Damonic Rapture
by alteris
Summary: A new kid has arrived at school, but he gets kidnapped by XANA before first period because of his mysterious Zune and the A.I. contained within. Now, two months later, XANA is asking for their help. Please R&R, all reviews are accepted! Complete, for now.
1. Kidnapped

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko...that is WAY too much responsibility for me to handle right now...maybe tomorrow...

A/N: Alright, that's out of the way. This is my first fanfic and I will post new chapters after I have recieved five reviews. Please Read and Review, or else rabid dust bunnies will attack you whenever you sneeze.

* * *

RING, RING, RING, RI…"Hello?" 

"Yes, this is Gary Lerath, and I'm calling about my son, Damon."

"Ah, Mr. Lerath, is there a problem with your son starting school at Kadic Academy today?"

"Yes, he went to the school early this morning, to check it out, and promised to call us at six thirty to let us know that he's alright and it's now seven and we're worried."

"Does he have a history of being late about anything?"

"No, in fact he's always early…that's why we're worried."

"Can you give me a description of Damon?"

"Yes, he has black hair, tipped red, that he ties into a ponytail with the bangs framing his face; brown eyes; a white t-shirt; black cargo pants; and black combat boots."

"Thank you, we'll make sure to keep a lookout for him, why don't you try calling the police as well."

"Already have Principal Delmas."

"We'll call you if we find him."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Earlier that morning

* * *

Damon was walking around the campus listening to "Iron Man" on his red Zune, when he was confronted by a boy with brown hair, wearing an open olive button-up shirt over a tannish-green t-shirt. 

"Hello, who are you," Damon inquired the boy.

"Give…Me…The…A.I.," demanded this strange boy in a voice that was too deep for him.

"What A.I.? All I have is my cell phone and my Zune," responded Damon cautiously.

The boy's eyes flashed with a weird looking eye symbol that had a dot at its center with two rings going outward and on the outer ring were lines extending outward in similar positions to a peace sign.

"Give…Me…The…A.I.," demanded the boy lunging for the Zune.

"Well you can't have this," Damon responded with a matadoran maneuver, "My grandfather gave this to me shortly before he died!"

At that time another boy, looking just like the first, walked by. Seeing what was going on, he pulled out his cell phone and called someone.

"Hello," said the other person.

"XANA is attacking someone in the soccer field Odd. Get your butt down here!"

"Alright, Ulrich. I'll be down there in a minute," Odd said sounding more alert.

Ulrich put away his phone and proceeded to help out this kid in trouble.

"Give…Me…The…A.I….NOW!" exclaimed the Ulrich look-alike.

"Crud, now there are two of you," proclaimed Damon, seeing this newcomer running up.

"Hey, I'm here to help," exclaimed Ulrich giving his look-alike a roundhouse kick that would have knocked out ordinary humans.

Then again, this wasn't an ordinary human.

"What is he after," asked Ulrich as his clone stood up.

"He said he's after an A.I. then he lunged at my Zune," proclaimed Damon frantically to this stranger.

"XANA, what are you up to," Ulrich thought to himself.

Damon, being distracted, never saw the punch that knocked him out, nor did he see Ulrich pick up his Zune before the his look-alike noticed.

Seeing futility in trying to leave with just his prize, the clone-that Ulrich recognized as XANA-decided to take the now unconscious boy with him. He picked up Damon and left before Ulrich could follow.

With perfect timing a shortish blonde boy with a purple streak in his hair wearing a purple shirt, purple pants, and yellow shoes came running up and saw XANA's exit.

"Man, I missed it," groaned the boy.

"Yeah you did Odd," said Ulrich," but at least XANA didn't get what he was looking for."

"If that kid isn't what he came here for then what is," asked Odd.

"This," answered Ulrich pulling out the red Zune.

"Guess XANA was wanting to get his groove thing on," joked Odd.

"This is serious," said Ulrich, "Let's get this to Jeremie."

And with that Ulrich and Odd set off on their way back to the dorms to find out what XANA was up to.


	2. Artificial Interrogation

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko in any way shape or form...yet.

A/N: I know what I said in the previous chapter about not posting any new chapters until I get some reviews, but I got bored and decided to post a couple anyway to try to garner some reviews. Please R&R. BEWARE OF FALLING PICKLES! THEY'RE KNOW TO BE VICIOUS!!!

* * *

"Uhn…why does my head hurt," Damon groaned as he started to regain consciousness.

"Good, you have awakened," said a familiar voice.

"You again. I already told you I don't have you're A.I.," Damon said before looking up. As he looked up he saw the source of the dark voice was not the boy that attacked him earlier. Now a different boy stood before him. This boy had blue-black hair and was dressed in a black jumpsuit with red armor protecting his sides. The jumpsuit and the growth-covered sword he was holding both had the same weird eye symbol that Damon had seen in the strange kid's eyes earlier.

It was now that Damon decided to take a look at his surroundings. What he saw blew his mind. "A polar region…in FRANCE!!" Wait a minute," Damon thought to himself.

"We're not in France anymore are we," Damon asked.

"No," said XANA, "You're in a virtual world called Lyoko. As for the A.I., I was going to take it from you. Since you do not have it on your possession, however, I shall take YOU instead!"

"Woah, woah, woah! Wait a minute…can't I take choice B," pleaded Damon.

"And what would that be," XANA inquired.

"The one where a twister drops a house on you and I take your shoes and wish myself back to school," Damon joked hysterically.

"Enough! No more of your childish games. You will serve me, you have no choice in the matter," commanded XANA. With that a wave of darkness enveloped Damon.

When the darkness lifted, Damon was changed. He was now wearing a black jumpsuit with blood red lines running to XANA's symbol, which now redided on his chest, and fingerless black gloves, but looked as though he was unarmed.

"And now, with your mighty fists, you are now by servant as is this boy, William, to whom you are currently speaking," XANA declared.

Damon grinned and said, "I live only to serve you, XANA."

* * *

At Jeremie's Dorm Room

* * *

A blonde kid wearing glasses, a blue turtleneck sweater, and beige pants was examining the red Zune.

"What would XANA want with this," asked Yumi, a Japanese girl wearing a black sweater, black pants and black tennis shoes.

"I don't know," answered Aelita, a pink-haired girl wearing a dark pink dress over a pink hoodie with fuzzballs at the end of the drawstrings and dark pink, knee high boots, "but whatever it is can't be good. Have you scanned the Zune yet Jeremie?"

"Not yet," responded the bespectacled boy, "but here goes nothing," Jeremie plugged the Zune into his computer and was immediately surprised.

"What is it Jeremie," inquired Aelita.

"There appears to be a locked program embedded deep within this, "Jeremie quickly looked at the brand name, "Zune."

"Think you might be able to unlock the program," Ulrich asked.

"I think so. Just give me a few minutes," Jeremie responded and he started to type at a feverish pace.

"I sure hope that our resident Einstein is up to the task," Odd commented.

"And there we go," Jeremie said, making Odd do a double take, "Just let me reinitialize the core memory…and there!"

The screen of the Zune flickered and a red-haired girl with green eyes appeared on screen, "Who are you," Jeremie asked.

"My name is Erethyr. The real questions, however, are who all of you are and why have I been awakened," the red-haired girl declared.

"My name is Jeremie, and this is Aelita; Ulrich; Yumi; and Odd," Jeremie stated, "And you have been awakened because the boy that had been carrying you was abducted by XANA, but-"

"XANA! How do you children know about XANA," Erethyr demanded.

"I'll answer this one," Aelita said. She proceeded to explain to Erethyr about their fight against XANA.

"I see," Erethyr responded to this wave of information, "Franz talked about having a daughter fleetingly. However, I never thought that I would talk to you, Franz Hopper's daughter, much less find out that you have been saving the world while I have slept."

"Do you know anything about the boy that was carrying you," Jeremie asked.

"All I know is that his name is Damon Lerath, he is the grandson of my creator, and he loves listening to metal," Erethyr answered.

"Well he's been captured by XANA now," Ulrich interjected, "And who knows what that virus has done to him by now."

"Maybe it would be best if we got you to the super calculator," Jeremie said.

"Actually," Erethyr mused, "that's not a bad idea."

With that said, the Lyoko gang set off on their way to the abandoned factory on the river through a secret passageway in the sewers.


	3. New Allies

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko...my demands have yet to be met.

A/N: Iknow that I've been uploading new chapters pretty fast, but that is because I don't think that the lack of action in the first chapter really protrayed what I'm trying to do, so I decided to upload chapters two and three fast to try and garner more reviews. Realize however, I'm trying to put my original characters into the group in a fairly original way. If you didn't like the lack of action in the previous two chapters, then this chapter and the next one will more than make up for it. Please R&R, if you don't my army of ninja pidgeons will follow you everywhere you go and poop on you in your sleep.

* * *

"Alright guys, I'll virtualize you and upload Erethyr onto Lyoko," Jeremie declared into his mic, "Transfer Odd. Transfer Yumi. Transfer Ulrich." Jeremie picked out their individual character cards, grimacing when he saw Damon's. 

"Scanner Odd. Scanner Yumi. Scanner Ulrich. Virtualization," Jeremie proclaimed as Odd, now looking like a purple cat with an emblem of a dog peeing on his chest; Yumi, wearing a purple and pink jumpsuit with a flower design on her shoulder pads and a yellow cloth on her back with grey ovals over her eyebrows; and Ulrich, wearing a yellow and black jumpsuit-reminiscent of Kill Bill-and two swords on his back, appeared on the digital landscape of the polar region. Jeremie repeated the same process for Aelita, who was now wearing a pink and white jumpsuit with a translucent pink skirt and a star-shaped bracelet on her right wrist.

"No problem with the transfer Einstein," Odd said, "but we do have other problems."

"Like what," Jeremie inquired.

"Like the welcoming committee," Odd declared, "and me without my jello mold as a gift."

"Try to hold out as long as you can guys," Jeremie responded, "I'm gonna try to upload Erethyr."

"Attack them now," William ordered.

"Yes, sir," Damon said as he charged right into the fray while William watched XANA's new minion do all the hard work.

"Laser Arrow," Odd declared as he fired four arrows and watched Damon dodge all but one with ease. "Wow, he's agile."

"HIYA!" Yumi yelled as she threw her fans and saw Damon likewise dodge them too.

"Yeah, he's a natural. But it's my turn now," Ulrich declared as he drew close to Damon. When the met in the middle of the battlefield, it became apparent that it was a match between swords and fists.

"He doesn't stand a chance without a weapon," Odd declared loudly.

Ulrich made a few quick slices with his swords, but Damon dodged all but the last one. In retaliation, he threw a brutal uppercut that made a visible ripple in the air and sent Ulrich flying, dropping his swords on the way.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Aelita winced, preparing to throw some energy balls.

"Ooh," Odd winced while drawing a bead on Damon, "that's gonna smart in the morning." Seeing Ulrich get knocked out cold, Yumi flew into a match of hand-to-hand combat with Damon. She appeared to be an even match for him, but she knew otherwise.

"Where did he learn to fight like this," Yumi thought to herself, seeing Damon dodging her friends' shots while fighting her, "I won't last much longer in a fight like this."

"Man he's good," Odd thought out loud.

"Got it," Jeremie proclaimed, "I've got Erethyr synchronized with Lyoko. Now just to upload her." Jeremie started the uploading process, selecting the character card that they had collaborated on while synchronizing Erethyr.

"Transfer Erethyr. Upload Erethyr. Virtualization." Within seconds Erethyr was uploaded onto Lyoko. She was wearing a red Tai Chi outfit with black trim and what appeared to be scimitars on her hips.

This was Erethyr's first time seeing Damon, and she was entranced by him. "Wow…he's kinda cute," Erethyr thought to herself, stopping herself from blushing.

"Damon, please come to your senses, I don't want to have to hurt you," Erethyr pleaded. The only response she got was Damon grabbing Yumi by the throat with one hand and using her as a shield against Odd and Aelita's attacks, all the while beating her face in, until she was devirtualized.

"Jeremie," Erethyr shouted.

"Yeah what is it," Jeremie responded slightly startled at Erethyr's voice.

"I don't think that XANA has taken complete control over him yet," Erethyr announced.

"What makes you say that," Jeremie inquired. William started to enter combat, seeing the A.I. that his master had been searching for.

"It looked to me as though he was pulling his punches, why don't you try to play one of the songs on his Zune," Erethyr responded drawing her scimitars, preparing herself for an attack. Damon decided to attack Odd because he was the closest. Unfortunately for him, he had fired his last arrow into Yumi and was now in trouble.

"Like what," Jeremie asked frantically.

"ANYTHING!!!" Erethyr shouted, engaging William in combat. Damon had closed in on Odd and held his head in his right hand and delivered a left hook instantly knocking him out. He viciously pounded Ulrich and Odd until they too were devirtualized. He then set his sights on Aelita, making her stand in a state of shock due to what she had just seen.

Jeremie picked a song at random on Damon's, "Here goes nothing," Jeremie sighed.

In the scanner room, two scanners had just opened, revealing the unconscious forms of Ulrich and Odd. Yumi being the only one in there that was still conscious, she decided to start dragging them both to the elevator. She was startled when she heard "Psycho" by System of a Down start playing over the speakers. "What the hell," was Yumi's only response before she got Ulrich and Odd into the elevator.

On Lyoko, Erethyr was in an intense sword fight with William, and Damon had made his way to a still shocked Aelita. He had drawn his right hand back to punch her in the gut when "Psycho" started playing. This seemed to have an adverse effect on Damon. He was holding his head in one hand and was straining to hold back his other hand, almost as though he was having an internal conflict with himself. Aelita chose that moment to come to her senses and saw this.

"Jeremie," Aelita announced, "I think that there is something wrong with Damon. He's just standing here with his fist drawn back and holding his head."

"Great," Erethyr declared, "We might just get him back yet!"

The elevator doors to the computer room opened and Yumi dragged Ulrich and Odd to the nearest wall. She walked over to Jeremie and asked, "Why is there music playing over the speakers?"

"It was Erethyr's idea," Jeremie answered, "She noticed that he was pulling his punches and told me to play a song to try to snap him out of XANA's control. It seems to be working from Aelita just said."

XANA was not one to give up so easily, so he poured more energy into controlling Damon. He wasn't about to let his mortal enemies recover his newest slave. This had an immediate effect on Damon as he grinned and punched Aelita in the gut with all of his might, bringing her to her knees clutching her stomach.

"I think XANA redoubled his efforts Jeremie," Erethyr stated, "Try playing 'Chop Suey!' I remember him playing that song a lot!"

Jeremie started playing "Chop Suey!" over the speakers just as Damon picked up Aelita by the throat and was bringing back his fist for a powerful punch. When he heard the music he stopped and his arm quivered. All that Damon heard was his favorite song playing with the clangs of metal hitting metal in the background.

"get…out…of…my…head…" Damon whispered, seeming to come partially to his senses.

"What did you say," a sinister voice declared in his head.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!" Damon shouted at the top of his lungs. He dropped Aelita and grabbed his own head as though he was in pain. All that Aelita could do was to sit on the ground, gasping for breath while watching this scene unfold.

"You will not be rid of me so easily," the voice calmly declared. In Damon's mind he saw a fist reaching out, trying to pull him out of the darkness. "NO! YOU WILL NOT HAVE HIM!!!"

"the choice is not yours to make," a faint voice declared defiantly.

"Who are you," Damon asked.

"that doesn't matter right now. what does matter is that I'm here to help," the faint voice offered.

"The boy is MINE!!" the sinister voice shouted.

"No, I'm mine," Damon declared, "I'm not sure if this is a trap, but anything has to be better than being your slave!" Damon grabbed onto the hand before him and got pulled through the darkness.

When Damon opened his eyes he was laying on his back and he was very cold. He didn't know how he got here, but he immediately sat up and started shivering. "GODDAMN IS IT COLD HERE!!!" Damon shouted.

"Glad to see that you're yourself again," Damon heard a beautiful voice say.

Damon looked over at the source of this voice and saw Erethyr standing before him. "Okay, who are you and why am I sitting on my ass in a polar region," Damon inquired forcefully.

"My name is Erethyr, and this is Aelita," Erethyr stated, "As for the sitting on your ass part…you were under an evil force's control, but we got you back before it became permanent."

"So, my nightmare was a reality," Damon whispered.

"Indeed, it was both nightmare and reality," Erethyr stated, "but it's over now. Let's get you home."

"Devirtualizing Aelita and Damon…now," Jeremie declared, "Downloading Erethyr…now."

Within moments Aelita and Damon were in the scanners and Erethyr was back inside the Zune. "C'mon," Aelita stated, waving to Damon as to have him follow her. He followed her, and they made their way back up to the computer room where Yumi, Odd, Ulrich, and Jeremie were already in a heated discussion.

"Hey, Aelita," Odd shouted, "C'mere, we've got to ask your input in this decision before we go any further." Aelita and Damon both made their way over there but Odd stopped Damon. "Sorry, man. This doesn't concern you yet. Just stand over there by the wall and we'll call you over here when we're ready to talk to you."

Damon did as he was told, still in a state of shock and grief over what had just happened. He didn't have long to wait, however, as within a few minutes Odd was already waving him over to the rest of the group.

"All right," Jeremie declared, "What we were discussing is whether or not we want you in our group. After a few minutes of discussing, we decided that we should allow you to plead your case to us. We will give you a ten minutes to do this in. Starting NOW."

"Wow, this is all so sudden," Damon stated, "Um, I don't know what to say. I started today a normal person before I got attacked by a weird kid that looked just like you," Damon pointed at Ulrich, " I got put under this XANA thing's mind control just because he wanted some kind of A.I.. I'm sorry for all that I did to you on Lyoko. I tried to pull my punches as much as possible, but I was under his control. If Jeremie and Erethyr hadn't somehow managed to snap me out of it I don't know what I would have done. Just know this however. If I'm allowed to join your group, which seems to know a lot about this whole Lyoko thing, I vow that I will set my life on the line in the pursuit of destroying XANA because of what he did to me."

"Wow," Erethyr said, "That has to be the most heart-felt speech I've ever heard."

"I agree," Ulrich stated.

"Wait a second," Damon said cautiously, "Did that Zune, my Zune, just speak in the same voice as Erethyr?!"

"Yes," Jeremie stated, "Why do you ask?"

"Okay," Damon stated, "I just wanted to clarify that before I got weirded out."

"Well, are you weirded out," Yumi asked after a few moments.

"FUCK YEAH I'M WEIRDED OUT!!!" Damon shouted, surprising them all and getting a laugh out of Odd.

"Well," Jeremie said after looking at all his friends briefly, "I think that settles it then. Welcome to the group!"

"Congrats," Yumi cheered, shaking his hand.

"What about me," Erethyr asked.

"Of course you're in," Ulrich stated, "We need more people like you two on the team."

"Just promise me one thing," Odd asked Damon.

"What," Damon inquired hesitantly.

"Next time you go for a right hook," Odd responded rubbing his jaw, "Try not to hit me."

Everyone laughed at this as they all welcomed the two new additions to their group.

"Crap, my parents are probably worried sick about me," Damon groaned.

"Why don't you call them now, and think of a good excuse for whatever they'd be so worried about," Odd said.

"Can't hurt to try," Damon responded as he called his parents and lied to them as to why he hadn't called on time.

"Alright, I'll be home shortly," Damon said, relieved that they believed his lie, and he hung up.

"So," Yumi asked cautiously, "What did they say."

"They believed me," Damon answered, "but I have to get home fast. Could somebody walk me there, I'm kinda lost in this city…"

"Sure, I'll do it," Ulrich responded.

"Don't forget about me," Erethyr demanded.

"Alright, alright," Damon sighed as he picked up his Zune, "But please don't get me in trouble with my parents."

"You got yourself a deal," Erethyr declared.

And with that the three new friends headed off leaving the other four laughing about the whole exchange. Meanwhile a sinister force was just watching them. "Soon, I shall destroy you all…" a sinister voice stated.


	4. Revelations

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko...they have leverage, I don't have hostages.

A/N: I've been getting quite a few hits in just the short time that I've had this up. Keep it up guys, maybe drop in a review...or five, I would love to hear some of your feedback. This chapter is supposed to be used as character development, originally it was going to be an entirely different chapter. I had my creative juices flowing, however, and created a kind of dark chapter. This does reveal Damon's backstory and it makes him sound a little bit more human. All that aside, please R&R, or else evil tooth decay goblins will move into your mouth and play loud polka music day and night.

* * *

Damon and Yumi were walking to school about a week after their first encounter, Erethyr in tow. There was an uneasy silence between the three, as if nobody was entirely comfortable in the other's presence yet.

"So," Yumi inquired, attempting to make small talk, "What do you think of France?"

"It is lovely here," Damon answered, "A bit nicer than where I lived before I moved here."

Yumi was surprised by this sudden openness about a facet of Damon's past. In the week that she had known him, he had not once revealed anything about his past, despite constant inquiries from Odd. "Where did you live before?"

"I used to live in the bad part of St. Louis," Damon answered, "It was among the worst parts of the city. There were prostitutes and drug dealers on every corner, and in every alley there was a group of thugs from the local gang just waiting to mug you. I ended up having to learn how to fight many people far stronger than myself just to stay alive. It was there that I learned how to throw a powerful punch, to dodge attacks coming from all angles, and to absorb what blows I couldn't dodge."

Yumi was again surprised by his sudden openness. She decided to inquire further about Damon's past. "It must have been rough living in a neighborhood like that."

"Indeed it was," Damon explained, "You never knew when you were going to get jumped or when the next drive-by was going to happen. A city like that was a very hard place to live in, especially with a few gangs trying to hunt you down. Whether it was to make you join your ranks or to ice you, you wouldn't be able to tell until the last second. But after a few years, I eventually gained a sort of sixth sense of incoming attacks. I had to, you see. If I hadn't I would of ended up like so many of my former friends." Damon had a pained expression on his face, as though he was reliving horrible moments that no kid should have to face.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay," Yumi said apologetically, sensing that her new friend was grieving for fallen friends. "I understand if you want to drop the subject. I can tell that you have experienced terrible loses."

"You can't even begin to understand what I've been through!" Damon shouted, bringing strange looks aimed in his direction as he ran off suddenly, dropping his Zune.

"I think I might have pushed a little to far into his past," Yumi commented, picking up the Zune.

"You think," Erethyr stated. "I think that we had better inform the rest of the group about this."

"I think that you're right," Yumi responded, "They have a right to know what has just happened." Yumi then called Ulrich.

"What's up, Yumi," Ulrich asked, slightly confused at her call at this time in the morning.

"I think that I might have upset Damon," Yumi answered, "I got him talking about his past and I think that I might have pushed a little bit too far."

"Tell me what happened," Ulrich demanded in a concerned tone.

"It started out with me asking him how he likes France, and he said that it's nicer than where he used to live. So, I asked him where he used to live," Yumi explained.

"What did he say," Ulrich asked.

"He said that he used to live in the bad part of St. Louis. Then he went on and explained what it was like everyday over there. It sounded pretty horrible from what he was saying. Eventually he started talking about losing some of his former friends and he had a pained look on his face. It looked like he had lost a lot over there, so I told him that it was okay if he didn't want to talk about it anymore, and that I understood that he must have been through a lot. Then he shouted that I couldn't even begin to understand what he had been through. He dropped Erethyr and ran off. That's when I called you," Yumi explained.

"Looks like we're gonna have to find him and try to sort this out," Ulrich leveled, "I'll gather the others and we'll look for him together before he does something that he's gonna regret."

"I'll meet up with you at the gates," Yumi stated.

"See you there," Ulrich said before hanging up.

"What's up," Erethyr asked.

"We're all going to go looking for him," Yumi answered, "That's what's up." Yumi rushed to the school gates to find everybody else just getting there too.

"Man, I've been bugging him all week about his past, and you just suddenly get him to open up," Odd said, "That's kind of annoying."

"We don't have time for this Odd," Aelita said, "We have to find him fast."

"Where could he of gone," Jeremie asked.

"I think I might know," Erethyr responded, "Let's head to the factory."

"Why," Ulrich asked, "How does that make any sense?"

"I don't know," Erethyr responded, "I just have this feeling."

"Do you mean a mushy feeling, or a woman's intuition sort of feeling," Odd jibed.

"Drop it Odd," Erethyr retorted, blushing.

"Let's hurry there," Jeremie said, "We might just be able to beat him there." And just like that the group headed to the manhole cover in the forest. In the sewers, they each found their skateboards and scooters and used them as a means to get to the factory as fast as they could, just like they would in a XANA attack.

When they got there, they just barely caught a glimpse of Damon entering the factory. "At least we were able to get here before he could do anything rash," Aelita reasoned.

"Hurry! He might kill himself," Erethyr shouted.

"You heard the woman," Ulrich commanded, "Let's get a move on!" The group then headed in after Damon. When they got there, they saw that he had already ran into another room and a piece of machinery was missing.

"This is not good," Yumi stated as she lead the charge after him.

They followed him into a small room and it looked as though he was about to impale himself on a metal spike. "DAMON!!! STOP!! THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!," Erethyr shouted.

"None of you know what it's like," Damon yelled back, "You could never understand what it's like to see the things that I have seen!"

"That's why we're here," Aelita tried to reason with him, "We're to try to help you, to understand your pain."

"Why should I believe you," Damon shouted.

"Because we're your friends, we're here for you through thick and thin," Odd declared.

"You know what happened to last person that I called friend," Damon retorted.

"No," Ulrich asked, "What happened to the last person you called friend?"

"She died, right in front of me, and I couldn't save her!! She was shot in the chest!! She died instantly, and I couldn't save her," Damon shouted, looking like he was on the verge of crying, "None of you could ever understand what that's like. To be unable to save the one person that was closest to you!!"

"No, we couldn't," Yumi said, shocked at this latest revelation as to her new found friend's past, "But do you honestly think that killing yourself is going to solve anything?!"

Damon looked up at her, tears streaming from his eyes. His hands were trembling and Yumi walked up to him. She grabbed the hand that was holding the metal spike and put it down. "We're here for you and we're not going anywhere. We will always be there for you, that's what friends are for," Yumi said softly.

"What would we do without you," Erethyr cried through her own virtual tears, "All of us worked together and saved you from XANA. Surely that must mean something to you. Just think of what your last friend would say if she saw you acting like this."

At this point Damon lost all control of what was keeping his emotions back before. He dropped the spike and fell into Yumi's arms, sobbing into her shoulder, surprising her in the process. She decided to pat his back in an effort to comfort him in his time of need. "There, there," Yumi said soothingly, "Just let it all out and talk to us when you're ready to."

The entire group just stood like that for about ten minutes, while Damon calmed down. "Thanks," Damon sniffed releasing himself from Yumi's embrace, "I just needed someone to talk to. I'm sorry that I shouted at you earlier, but that was a really deep wound that just got reopened. A wound that time will never be able to heal."

"So," Ulrich inquired, "what was so special about this last friend of yours?"

Damon took a second to make sure that he didn't just break down again before responding. "She was my girlfriend for three years. Unfortunately, she got in with the wrong crowd, and a rival gang decided to off her. They let me live because I hadn't done anything to them. But they just killed her, right in front of me…" Damon looked like he was on the verge of tears again.

"It's alright," Jeremie said, "We all lose loved ones, it's just bad that you had to watch her go. I can understand why that would hurt so much, but you shouldn't beat yourself up over it. Now, c'mon. Let's get back to school."

"Um, if it's alright with you guys I think that I'm just going to go on home with Erethyr…I really need some time to clear my head right now. And I think that Erethyr might be able to help," Damon said hesitantly.

"Okay," Yumi said, "Hope you get to feeling better. We'll drop by after school, is that okay?"

"Yes," Damon responded, "In fact that sounds nice."

At that most of the group went to school, waving their goodbyes to Damon as they went through the sewers. Damon and Erethyr, on the other hand went home.

"Today's been a rough day," Erethyr said after a little while, "For all of us."

"That it has," Damon responded, "but I have a feeling that the worst of my problems is over for now."

"That's good to hear," Erethyr said.

"Maybe we could even get to know each other a little bit better today," Damon offered, blushing. His blush was only answered by a similar blush from Erethyr.

After a few moments of silence Erethyr said, "I've been wondering…?"

"Hmmm?" Damon responded.

"Why is 'Chop Suey!' your favorite song," Erethyr asked.

Damon eyes started to look wet again. It was obvious that this question was related to what had happened to him. "If it's too difficult for you to speak about it, I'll understand," Erethyr offered.

"No, it's okay," Damon said, "You asked an honest question, so I'll give you an honest answer. The reason that 'Chop Suey!' was my favorite song, was that it exemplifies my feelings of that horrible day two years ago perfectly. System of a Down's album Toxicity has quite a few songs that are symbolic to me because they represent stages of my life."

"For being so young, you've been through quite the little bit," Erethyr commented.

"After she died, I even turned to drugs for a few months, in an attempt to make my problems go away. When that didn't work I went to rehab and counseling. It is because of that counseling that I didn't try to commit suicide sooner. I eventually just repressed those memories. But on the anniversary of the tragedy, my mind wanders to her…to that day…to her face as she died…" Damon was now on the verge of tears again.

"Cry if it helps Damon," Erethyr said as soothingly as she could manage, "If I could hold you against me like Yumi did, just know that would in a heartbeat." Erethyr blushed, shocked that she had actually said that out loud.

"I know," Damon said, blushing but with tears streaming down his face.

The rest of the trip home was uneventful, and when his parent's asked him why he didn't go to school, Damon just said that he wasn't feeling well. His parents dropped it at that, remembering what had happened two years ago, and wondered if that might be the real reason why he didn't go to school that day. Today was the anniversary of that tragedy.

That evening, after school, Ulrich; Odd; Yumi; Aelita; and Jeremie all came over as promised. They started talking about the day's events.

"So, how are you feeling," Aelita asked.

"A lot better than I was, thank you for asking," Damon responded.

"That was a close call today," Jeremie said.

"Yeah, I don't think that I'll ever be able to thank you guys enough for stopping me," Damon said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about that, we're your friends, we were doing what friends do," Odd stated.

"Friends," Damon laughed a little bit, "That is a term that I'm definitely going to be getting used to again."

"So, we are friends, right," Yumi asked tentatively.

"We're more than just friends," Damon stated, "I owe all my life to all of you."

"I know that you would have done the same for all of us," Ulrich stated.

"Yeah, but I feel as though I need to make it up to all of you, after all, you did save my life earlier," Damon said.

"Well, it is suppertime," Odd commented.

"Odd!" everybody but Damon said.

Damon just laughed. "Actually, supper sounds nice right about now." The rest of the group just laughed and later they all sat down to a meal at Damon's house. Damon was just reveling in how easy it was to call these people friends, and Odd was reveling in just how good the food tasted. With a true friendship well under way, the group was now able to laugh easily, unaware of an evil that was preparing to rear its ugly head very soon.


	5. Metal Madness

Dislaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko...I've yet to get the supplies for a hostile takeover.

A/N: Wow, you guys are just soaking this stuff up. I'm kind of disappointed at the lack of reviews, but that's all right with me. As long as you keep reading I'll keep posting. It would just be really nice to hear what all of you think about this story. I know that the last chapter was really dark, but don't view that as the direction that this whole story is going. I was adding a backstory to Damon and decided to run with the idea that something horrible had happened in his past. I was using his suicide attempt as a reason for him to get closer to the rest of the group. I don't really like it when other authors just say that the main group and the OC's automatically become close friends, so I went out on a limb and gave Damon a readon to become close to the group. I know that was going a little far just to do that, but apparently it worked because I'm getting hits a lot faster now. But I digress...please R&R. My, ahem, army of hippies will freak you out until you do.

* * *

Yumi and Damon were walking to school together, like they always did, but this time Erethyr wasn't with them. Jeremie had asked if he could borrow her for the night, and they had reluctantly agreed. In the past three days, Damon had warmed up a lot to all of his friends, especially Erethyr. Unfortunately, Odd had also caught onto that, and gave them endless shit for it. 

"Man," Damon stated, "Odd is really starting to get on my nerves."

"Yeah, he has been pretty merciless about you and Erethyr," Yumi commented.

"Why doesn't he give it a rest already," Damon said, "Once in a while, that's alright, but every single fucking time he sees you two together. Needless to say I just want to hurt him sometimes."

"He does get annoying," Yumi said, "Especially since he doesn't know when to stop."

"I have a feeling that he'll learn soon enough," Damon muttered darkly.

"What was that," Yumi inquired, her left eyebrow raised.

"Nothing," Damon answered quickly, making her laugh. Pretty soon they were at the gates, and the rest of the group was waiting for them.

"No incidents this morning, I hope," Erethyr said.

"C'mon I already told you guys that I'm okay now. Cross my heart hope to die," Damon winced at his own poor word choice. The rest of the group just laughed at Damon's reaction to his own words.

"Well," Yumi said after she stopped laughing, noticing the time, "It's about time to go to class."

"Already," Odd groaned, "I swear that if I see 'mx+b' on Ms. Hertz's board again, I'm gonna lose it."

"You mean you actually see it, I thought that you were too busy sleeping to notice what was on the board," Damon jibed.

"C'mon, you're not even in our class and you're still dissing me about that," Odd said.

"Just because I have to take remedial classes to catch up with you guys doesn't mean that I'm not oblivious to you snoring from the next room," Damon retorted.

"Touché," Odd responded, getting more laughs from the rest of the group, "At least we're getting out of class early today."

"Yeah," Ulrich added, "That way you can plan what you're going to eat for lunch today."

"Ooh, another cheap shot! Is today national pick on Odd day," Odd joked.

"Yeah, actually it is," Damon pulled out his phone and showed him a note on his calendar to emphasize his point. Yumi, Aelita, Ulrich, and Jeremie all pulled out their phones to show him the same thing.

"Crap, gotta run," Odd said, trying to walk away from the verbal abuse.

When he was out of earshot Ulrich said, "You know, that was actually a well executed prank."

"All that got hurt was his ego," Jeremie noted.

The bell chose that time to ring. "See you at lunch Jeremie. Wait, could I please get Erethyr back," Damon said.

"Sure, and she can tell you what I was doing last night. We think that you are going to like it," Jeremie responded, giving a slightly confused Damon his red Zune back.

"Do I want to know," Damon said.

"Yes, of course you do," Erethyr said, slightly insulted.

"Sorry, it's just that surprises and me don't have a good history," Damon apologized, hurrying off to class.

After class was over a few students went to the cafeteria, to see what was on the menu for that day. Odd and Ulrich had left for the cafeteria, Jeremie and Aelita had run off to the factory to try out some of their new programs using the super calculator, Yumi had gone home for lunch with her family, and Damon was just walking around the school grounds trying to unwind from his exhausting day of classes.

"Man," Damon stated, "Why didn't you guys tell me that it was possible to make material clones of people using virtual particles. Well, at least now I know what XANA used to attack me and try to grab you the first time I had an encounter with him."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Erethyr apologized, "but Jeremie wanted to know if this Zune had enough memory left on it for a program so that I could make a polymorphic clone of myself. Which does have its own practical uses."

"Like what," Damon inquired, blushing because he was sure what the answer really was.

"Well-" Erethyr started before she was cut off by a blood-curdling scream.

"That sounded like it came from the cafeteria," Damon exclaimed, "C'mon, we gotta check this out." Damon started running towards the source of the scream. When he got there, he saw something that looked horrible. To make things worse Ulrich and Odd were fighting it alone while getting everybody out, and losing.

Damon's phone rang and he picked it up. "Damon, XANA had activated a tower! You have to get here and help us deactivate it," Jeremie said frantically.

"I realize that," Damon responded, "and the attack is about six feet tall, made out of pots, pans, trays, untensils, and…mystery meat. I always told Odd that the cafeteria food was evil."

"You have to get back here, fast," Jeremie now stated a bit more urgently.

"Wish I could, but I owe you guys. As I see it, it's high time that I paid you guys back," Damon declared.

"HAVE YOU FUCKING LOST IT?!" Jeremie shouted.

"Probably never had it," Damon responded as hehung up on Jeremie.

"What are we going to do with you," Jeremie muttered under his breath as he called Yumi.

* * *

At The Cafeteria

* * *

Odd and Ulrich were fighting for their lives against this horrible metal and mystery meat monster. "Man," Odd groaned, "Even XANA is picking on me today. This just isn't my day." 

"Are you ever serious," Ulrich asked.

"Are you ever not serious," Odd retorted.

"BONZAI!!!" yelled Damon as he performed a flying punch to the monster's head, knocking it off and temporarily stunning the monster.

"What the fuck," Ulrich and Odd both said simultaneously.

"Just your friendly neighborhood crazy guy, that's what," Damon joked.

Erethyr said, "C'mon, we have to get to the factory. It's the only chance that we've got."

"In case you forgot," Odd declared, "we still have big, tall, and ugly here to take care of!"

"One of us will have to go," Ulirch stated plainly. The monster was no longer stunned and was now fumbling around, trying to find its head.

"Well, I ain't going," Damon flat out declared, "This is not only a chance to pay back the debt that I owe you guys, but a chance for me to make amends with my past."

"And I'm not going," Ulrich stated, "I'm not quite fast enough to make it to the factory in time."

"Crap, so that leaves me," Odd stated, "I'll go, but I want to take Erethyr with me."

"Here," Damon handed Erethyr over to him, "Now get a move on. There are lives at stake here."

"And of course I get handed to the purple pig with sweaty hands," Erethyr quipped, bringing a chuckle from Ulrich and Damon.

"Not you too," Odd groaned. With that, Odd ran towards the manhole cover in the park, Erethyr in tow. The monster found its head then and put it back on, ready to fight again.

"This is not going to be easy," Ulrich stated, rolling under a swipe from one of the monster's giant claws.

"I think that you might be right," Damon agreed, deftly dodging a swipe that took out a large chunk of the cafeteria wall, "This is going to be made so much harder when we have to dodge falling debris as well."

"At least its movements are slow," Ulrich commented, barely dodging a slam attack from the monster. By now the cafeteria's structural integrity was questionable.

"I think that we had better move this outside," Damon commented, punching the metal construct. While he made a huge dent in the monster's arm and a long ring, Damon was now shaking his left hand in a little bit of pain. "Note to self: metal hurts when you punch it," Damon joked.

"Well, duh," Ulrich responded, "But you're right we have to move this fight outside."

The monster made a slash attempt at Damon, who spun away from it only receiving minor scrapes on his back as a result. "To the soccer field then," Damon inquired.

"You read my mind," Ulrich responded then he ventured to ask, "Why did your punch to his head not hurt earlier?"

"Its head is apparently made out of a softer material. We might have to use that to our advantage later. For now we have to lure the monster away from here without it seriously injuring anybody else," Damon responded.

They started to make their way to the soccer field, with their new 'fiend' following close behind. Fortunately for Ulrich and Damon, the monster was too intent on killing them to pay any attention to the other people that were running away.

* * *

On Lyoko

* * *

"The transfer went great Jeremie," Aelita declared. Aelita, Yumi, and Odd had all been virtualized in the mountain region on Lyoko, and they could see the tower from their vantage point on a cliff above the tower. 

"Okay, I'll upload Erethyr now," Jeremie stated, and within moments, Erethyr was with them.

"My transfer went without a hitch as well Jeremie," Erethyr declared.

"Be careful guys, XANA definitely doesn't want you to reach the tower. He has his full menagerie there: ten roachsters, three blocks, five hornets, six crabs, three tarantulas, four creepers, two megatanks, and six mantas with William at the reigns of one of them," Jeremie warned.

"We can see them Einstein," Odd said, "And I for one am more than prepared to rain cheese on the masses."

"Why cheese," Yumi asked, already knowing the answer.

"Because cheese conquers all, it is after all the most powerful force in the universe," Odd joked, bringing laughter from the rest of the group.

"All right guys," Erethyr managed to say, "This is serious, we're being heavily outnumbered here. Is there any way that we could even the odds."

"I think I know one," Yumi offered.

"What is it, we'd be more than happy to find out what you have thought of," Odd inquired.

"I could always try bowling with a megatank," Yumi answered.

"How could you pull that one off," asked a startled Erethyr.

"With my Lyoko power," Yumi answered frankly.

"Lyoko power," Erethyr questioned.

"Yeah, they're special abilities we have while on Lyoko," Yumi explained, "We'll tell you later, but right now just watch." Yumi then had a look of concentration on her face as she started to glow fuchsia, as did the megatank she aimed her power at and forced it to roll over a large number of XANA's forces before rolling off of the edge of the platform and into the digital sea, where it was destroyed instantly.

"Good job Yumi," Odd said, stifling a laugh at the looking at the expression on the face of a completely flabbergasted Erethyr.

"I'll take care of XANA's aerial forces," Aelita stated, pressing her bracelet to summon pink, feathery wings. She took off and started taking down XANA's hornets and mantas.

"If you can do that," Erethyr said after she regained her composure, "Then what can the rest of you do?"

"I can see visions of the future, but I can't control when they happen, and Aelita can change the virtual landscape at the expense of life points," Odd responded.

"What about Ulrich," Erethyr asked, "What can he do?"

"He can run at super speeds and create clones of himself," Yumi answered, "But now is not the time for that, now is the time to fight."

"Aelita's got the air covered," Erethyr commented, "So why don't you take care of the tarantulas and the remaining crabs Yumi. Odd, why don't you take care of the last megatank. As for me, the only thing left is to take care of the bastard that tried to control Damon."

"What's up with you," Odd asked, "Why are you taking that so seriously, unless of course you **really** like Damon."

"Shut up Odd," Erethyr commanded, blushing heavily.

"Alright, sheesh, can't you even take a little joke," Odd smirked as he went off to fight the megatank.

"I'll make quick work of my battle," Yumi stated, shaking her head at the narrowly avoided confrontation.

By now Aelita had destroyed all of the hornets and all but one manta. When she fired her pink ball of energy at the last manta, William hopped off of it and managed to hit Aelita with his own shadow energy. Aelita was falling fast and devirtualizing in the air. Erethyr saw this and pointed her hand towards Aelita and shouted, "NO!!"

When Erethyr shouted she subconsciously activated her own Lyoko power. Both she and Aelita were glowing a warm blue. While Aelita was glowing, she stop devirtualizing and the process reversed itself. When this process was done, Erethyr looked drained and Aelita was able to bring herself out of her dive. "Erethyr," Jeremie stated, "you have thirty life points left, but I didn't register that you got hit, what happened?"

"I don't know…I just didn't want Aelita to be devirtualized, and I felt us become attached. She was absorbing life points from me, and that managed to stop her from being devirtualized," Erethyr answered, sounding confused.

"I think she might have activated her Lyoko power," Aelita offered, "Her ability might be the ability to heal others at the expense of her own life points."

"That may be all well and good," Erethyr noted, "But we have a fight on our hands, and I need to get some payback on William. So, if you don't mind let's leave the speculation until after the fight is over. Aelita, why don't you see if you could make your way to the tower even though it is still heavily guarded. I don't want to think about what that metal monster could be doing to Ulrich and Damon while we are just standing here talking."

"Point taken," Aelita responded as she and Erethyr went off to perform their own roles in the fight. Before they could get far, however, William was barring their path. "Aelita, you go around and try to deactivate that tower," Erethyr stated.

"But what about you," Aelita inquired.

"Pretty boy here is mine," Erethyr answered, grinning from ear to ear.

Aelita, taking note of Erethyr's enthusiasm, decided to make a beeline for the tower- leaving Erethyr behind to take William on all by herself. "Let's dance," Erethyr stated as she entered a heated sword battle with William. "I wonder how Damon's fairing on against that metal menace," Erethyr thought to herself.

* * *

The Soccer Field

* * *

Ulrich and Damon were not fairing very well against the metal menace. Ulrich had been knocked out but moments earlier, getting Damon pissed off enough to forget about dodging attacks or his own pain. He wanted revenge, and the only way to do that was to destroy this metal monster in front of him. The monster had many large dents in its hide, and was even missing an arm, but its targets were in front of it and on the losing side of the battle-it could go on with only one arm and still win. 

Damon was panting hard now, and even in his enraged state, he heard Ulrich coming around. Damon looked over at him and saw his friend moving. This caused Damon to relax, but this was the opening that the monster was looking for. It took a giant swing at Damon, and caught him off guard. The monster grabbed Damon and was now crushing him. "Man," Damon both groaned and shouted, "I know that I love metal, but this ridiculous!!"

Ulrich has stirred enough to see this and shouted, "DAMON!!! Fuck, I hope that they are doing a lot better on Lyoko than we are."

* * *

On Lyoko

* * *

Things were going great for the group, Yumi and Odd had defeated all their enemies and Erethyr had William running away as a wisp of smoke. Aelita had disappeared into the tower and was now floating up to the second platform with in it. "Aelita, you had better hurry, lives are at stake," Yumi shouted.

* * *

AELITA

* * *

Damon was coughing blood now, and thought he was about to die. Ulrich had gotten up and was trying to pull the monster off of him.

* * *

CODE

* * *

Damon weakly said, "Ulrich…tell Erethyr that I always loved her…" 

"No, don't talk like that Damon, you're going to survive. I just need to get this monster off of you," Ulrich responded hysterically while he was still trying to drag the metal monster off of him. Damon just smiled and his entire body seemed to grow limp. Ulrich could barely hear the sound of bones starting to crack.

* * *

LYOKO

* * *

The world seemed to stop for everyone besides the Lyoko gang. Jeremie said, "I just hope that we aren't too late. Return to the past now." Jeremie hit the enter key on the super calculator and a blinding white light emanated from the factory. This light enveloped Damon and Ulrich. Ulrich let out a sigh of relief because he knew what was happening, but he also hoped that it wasn't too late to save Damon.

* * *

That Same Day, Take Two

* * *

The entire gang was at the front gates to the school and Jeremie had just handed Damon back the Zune containing Erethyr. "You see, Erethyr wanted to be able to experience the real world, so we made a program that would be able to create a polymorphic clone of herself. This way she could interact with us with a real body, and even be able to help out in the event of a XANA attack. Unfortunately, there is a drawback," Jeremie explained. 

"What is that," Damon inquired, fully aware of how close he had come to death at the claws of the metal menace.

"In order to keep the clone going, it has to hold the Zune. And it also runs through the power of the Zune much faster. If she uses that program, then she will run through its power supply at a far higher rate," Jeremie explained.

"How much higher," Damon asked.

"About thirteen hours of battery life instead of the usual week," Erethyr answered.

"Damn, that is fast," Damon whistled.

"Oh and by the way, Damon," Ulrich said.

"Yeah, Ulrich. What is it," Damon inquired.

"I think that you have definitely paid us back for saving your life," Ulrich responded.

"Really, I didn't think that I did that much," Damon said.

"You saved my life twice, and Odd's once. Not only that but you managed to lead the monster away from anybody else. That was very noble of you," Ulrich stated.

"Yeah," Odd commented, "I he told me that he got knocked out, but when he woke up there weren't any new scratches on him. You must of done a really good job to protect him like that!"

"Not really," Damon humbly said, "I almost got crushed to death by that monster. If you guys had deactivated that tower even two seconds later, I wouldn't have made the trip back."

"Nonsense, that can't be true," Odd countered, "You can dodge anything…right?"

"No, Odd," Ulrich stated, "That one was my fault. He heard me coming around and turned to look at me. The monster took the opportunity to knock him to the ground and was crushing him. I even heard his bones starting to crack before the return trip to the past."

"Well, you survived didn't you," Odd said.

"Yeah, that's something at least. You were willing to give your own life to protect the lives of others," Yumi added, "Ulrich's right that was very noble of you. Does anybody else here think that he still owes us for saving him from himself?"

Nobody spoke up to say no, so Aelita declared, "It's settled then. Hey Damon, did Yumi fill you in on Lyoko powers yet?"

"Yeah, she told me on the way here," Damon responded, "I wonder what my power could possibly be?"

"I don't know," Odd said, "But maybe if you stopped trying to play kissy-face with Erethyr through your Zune's screen, we could find out."

Erethyr and Damon were both blushing at this comment while the rest of the group laughed. "Damon," Erethyr said.

"Yeah," Damon inquired.

"Could you please hurt him for me," Erethyr asked.

"With pleasure," Damon responded cracking his knuckles.

"Uh, oh," Odd said and tried to run away. Damon gave chase and the rest of the group was laughing even harder about the incident. Other students were giving them strange looks, and a few were even placing bets on whether or not Damon would catch Odd. All this speculation was set aside, however, as the bell rang. It signaled the start of a new school day to most, but to six teens and one A.I. it signaled the second start of the same school day.


	6. Enrollment

Disclaimer: I may not own Code: Lyoko, but that isn't for lack of trying.

A/N: I'm back, I know that ?I haven't updated for a few days but I only plan on posting about five chapters a week. I'm still not seeing any reviews out there, c'mon people I need reviews so that I can see what you guys actually think about it. Here I am writing a story for all of you, and nobody's even commented on the rabid dust bunny joke from chapter one...that's really disappointing. Anyway, here's the chapter. There isn't any action in it because I'm just trying to get Erethyr in place for future chapters. You actually get to see what she looks like outside of the Zune and Lyoko now. I promise more action in the next chapter, but for right now I'm expanding her relationship with Damon. Do I even have to go so far as to put, shudder, Sissi in these stories just to get a review. Anyway, please R&R...I have some random guy in place to pull down your pants in public if you don't.

* * *

It was Friday at Kadic Academy. Two days after the metal monster had attacked two students and destroyed the cafeteria. If you looked around, however, you would see no signs of that battle. Only a group of six students and one A.I. knew about what had happened, and why there was no sign of the skirmish. Return trips to the past are funny in that way, only the few individuals that have anything to do with that program know what happened before the trip back in time. 

Jeremie, Erethyr, and Damon-two of said students and the A.I.-were talking on this Friday after classes. They were talking about what had happened before Damon had arrived at Kadic Academy. Jeremie was summarizing all of the chapters in the fight on Lyoko for Damon. Erethyr had already heard this story from Aelita but was eager to hear it again. It sounded to her like something that could be made into a television program, with each chapter in the story being another season.

"In the beginning, it was just me, Ulrich, Odd, Yumi, and Aelita. At the time, Aelita was a virtual being just like Erethyr is. At that time XANA was just trying to destroy the school and Aelita. Why he was after the school, I have yet to figure out, but that's besides the point," Jeremie explained, "Back then, all I was ever doing was working on a program that would fuse virtual particles into material ones. This process is called materialization. After over a year of working on it, we finally materialized Aelita. XANA, however, had an ace up his sleeve. He put a virus into Aelita so that if we turned off the super calculator we'd turn her off too."

"Why didn't you just make an anti-virus," Damon asked.

"I tried like hell to," Jeremie answered, "but XANA was taking Aelita's data at that time with a creature called the scyphozoa. What it does is that it extracts lines of code that govern certain things. Sometimes it can input extra lines of code, such as temporarily giving XANA control over a user such as yourself. With a virus in Aelita, XANA used this as an opportunity to try to get access to the internet, that way even if we did create the anti-virus we still couldn't get rid of him. XANA was extracting data from Aelita in order to gain knowledge of how to do this. When he couldn't get the information that he needed, he tempted Aelita with her memories of her previous life. A life that happened before she became a virtual being. Unfortunately, we all fell for this trap. Sure, Aelita did get her memories back, but in return XANA was set loose into the internet. After that, he started taking control of Aelita for short periods of time in order to destroy the sectors."

"Fuck," Damon stated, "But how does William factor into all of this?"

"You see William had been trying to get Yumi's affections for quite some time. He was kind of Ulrich's rival," Jeremie explained, "He accidentally stumbled onto us one time while we were going to the factory, so after that attack was over we returned to the past so that he would forget. We didn't count on him dreaming about what happened during that attack, however. We ended up inducting him into the group later, but then because of his foolhardiness XANA took control of him and Lyoko was lost for a time. We did manage to recreate it though."

"I see," Damon stated, "So, why do I see him around the school? He seems so much dumber here than he does on Lyoko."

"I created a polymorphic clone of him, much like the one that I created for Erethyr-with her assistance of course," Jeremie answered.

"Thanks for not taking all of the credit," Erethyr noted.

"Your welcome," Jeremie said, "Now we are trying to get William out of XANA's control, and that means going into the digital sea, trying to find the world that he's on."

"You mean there are other worlds like Lyoko?!" Damon asked, alarmed.

"Yes, but as far as we have been able to tell, Lyoko is the only true digital world out there," Jeremie answered, "We haven't found any other world with all of the sectors in it yet."

"How long after William was taken over by XANA was it before I came into the picture," Damon inquired.

"About a month," Jeremie answered.

"Well, thanks for the four-one-one Jeremie," Damon stated, "So, now I have a question to ask of you."

"What is it," Jeremie asked.

"Would we be able to create a false identity for Erethyr, like you did for Aelita," Damon blurted.

"Yeah," Erethyr added, "I want to experience all the things that you guys experience beyond this screen without any awkward questions being asked about who I am."

"I'll see what I can do, but that would end up taking all weekend long, and that's including enrolling you," Jeremie declared.

"But could you do it," Erethyr asked, "I already have that clone program, so materialization isn't a big deal to me right now. But maybe some other day, we could get me materialized too."

"Alright," Jeremie responded, "I'll see what Aelita and I can do this weekend. We'll call you when we get finished."

"Thanks, Jeremie," Erethyr said cheerfully, "If there weren't a screen between the two of us right now, I could kiss you."

Jeremie blushed at this before saying, "I'll head up to my room now and tell Aelita what's going on along the way. See you guys when we're done."

"Alright, bye Jeremie," Damon waved as he headed home.

On the way home Damon thought of something. He'd laid his past to bare, but Erethyr hadn't yet. He decided to venture forth and ask the question. "Hey, Erethyr. Could you tell me about your past? I've been dieing to know as of late, after all I ended up telling you guys my checkered past."

"You really want to know," Erethyr responded.

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't of asked," Damon retorted.

"Touché," Erethyr stated, "Alright, about ten years ago, your grandfather created me. I was designed to work with Project: Carthage in order to keep XANA in check. I couldn't do this without being in there however. After a few upgrades to the super calculator, XANA grew to powerful to be kept under control. So I was hidden away, because if XANA ever got his hands on me that would have been bad for everybody involved."

"I can understand that," Damon said, "But how did you get inside this Zune?"

"Your grandfather loved to tinker," Erethyr declared, "So he fiddled with this Zune until it had more than enough memory to contain me. He then locked my program so that I wouldn't be found, but I would be mildly cognizant of the world around me. Well, he put this Zune in his will so that when he died, the person most likely to finish his work would get me. That happened to be you, Damon. Well, the government tried to get him to reveal my location. But, of course, he wouldn't so they arranged a little accident."

"You mean Grampa Artemis was killed by the government," Damon inquired, sounding fairly pissed off.

"Yeah, that was the last thing that I was awake for before Jeremie and the others unlocked my program about two weeks ago," Erethyr answered.

"Thanks for letting me know, Erethyr," Damon stated, "I really appreciate it. It looks like we did get to know each other better after all." He was referring to when he walked home after his near-suicide.

"I guess so," Erethyr laughed, blushing a little bit. Damon started to blush as well. They walked the rest of the way home in an awkward silence. They were completely unaware of a flickering shadow.

"So," this shadow thought to itself, "they are trying to do to the A.I. what they did to the Hopper girl. I cannot allow this. If they manage to get a hold of the two weapons that could beat me, I would most certainly be destroyed…Maybe the time to show my face is fast approaching. Heheheheheh…"

* * *

Sunday Afternoon

* * *

Damon's phone started ringing and he was wondering who could possibly be calling him. "Hello?" 

"Hey, Damon. It's me, Jeremie. I was just calling to tell you that Aelita and I finally got a false identity set up for Erethyr. We were just wondering if you two could come up here and authenticate it."

"All righty then. We'll be up there lickety-split," Damon declared as he ended the call.

"Who was that," Erethyr asked.

"That was Jeremie, and he wants us to head up there real quick," Damon responded.

"Hey, let's head there through the park," Erethyr stated.

"Why would we do that," Damon inquired.

"So that I can break in the clone program, of course," Erethyr scoffed as though it was obvious.

"Oh. Okay, I guess," Damon said.

Just like that, Damon and Erethyr headed towards Jeremie's dorm room-via the scenic route. They didn't stop until they reached a secluded part of the park that was seldom used. "Well, here we are," Damon declared.

"Alright, set me on the ground and take about five steps back," Erethyr commanded.

"Like this," Damon asked, doing exactly as he was told.

"Perfect," Erethyr stated as she activated the clone program. Leaves in the area surrounding the Zune started twisting around the Zune as though a light breeze had picked up, but there was no wind. The light of the Zune flashed brightly and the leaves exploded outward, leaving a certain red-headed girl with green eyes where the leaves had just been swirling. She was wearing a red shirt with the sleeves ending just short of her elbows, black capris, and black tennis shoes. She bent down and picked up the Zune, which now had a blank screen, and put it in her pocket.

"Wow…you're…" were the only words that Damon managed to get out before succumbing to a deep blush.

"Let's get up to Jeremie's room now, you may have just charged me up last night, but I don't want to take anymore time than absolutely necessary," Erethyr stated before dashing off towards Kadic Academy with Damon in tow.

They got up there pretty quickly. When they got there Aelita was also stunned at the clone, she hadn't known how those two had created this clone but it was a good one, she'd give Jeremie that at least. Jeremie just said, "Ah, Erethyr, just the person I wanted to see."

"What's up, Jeremie. What do you need me for," Erethyr asked. She knew that Damon was blushing still, but she kind of liked knowing that he thought that she looked cute too.

"What I needed you here for was to make sure that you had your own story right. Also, we need you here for the process of enrolling you here online," Jeremie responded. While those two were getting all of the online paperwork done, Damon and Aelita decided to take a walk around the school grounds.

"Damn! Those two did a fine job! I can't even keep my thoughts straight around her now," Damon declared.

"Yeah, I was just as surprised as you were, she really does look cute. Maybe you should ask her out sometime," Aelita commented.

Damon started blushing a deep red, "yeah….maybe sometime."

"We do need to upgrade her charger, at least until we get her materialized," Aelita said.

"Well, I was actually working on that yesterday," Damon held up the charger that he had made. The outside of it looked fairly crude, but when Aelita opened up the circuitry she was amazed at the craftsmanship.

"This looks amazing! Did you make it yourself," Aelita asked in wonderment.

"Yeah, I don't really like to build stuff very often, but when I do I make sure that it's the best that I can make it," Damon said humbly.

"Looks like we finally got a tinkerer in the group," Aelita joked.

"Hey, just because I built this doesn't mean that I'm a tinkerer. My gramps taught me some trick before his 'accident,'" Damon admitted thinking of what Erethyr had told him Friday afternoon.

"You're grandpa is dead," Aelita asked.

"Yeah, he was working on the Carthage project ten years ago when he made Erethyr. About eight months ago, he died because he wouldn't give her up to the government. So I got her in his will," Damon told Aelita, but before he died he taught me how to make a lot of stuff. It's just that after he died, I stopped building stuff altogether."

"You do know that Lyoko is the Carthage project, right," Aelita inquired.

"Yeah, Erethyr told me that stuff when she was telling me her background," Damon admitted.

"I'm sure that she'd be really happy if you gave this to her. But tell me this, why aren't there any prongs in the back," Aelita asked, honestly confused.

"That's because it's solar-powered. Jeremie was telling me about how XANA would take control of stuff through electrical outlets back in the day, so I built extra defense against that," Damon explained.

"That is cool. Why don't you build stuff like this more often," Aelita inquired.

"Because I rarely feel motivated enough to make anything. That and I have an image to maintain as a street tough badass. If people saw me building stuff, my image would be shattered," Damon explained. Aelita just laughed at this comment, knowing that she had lost this argument. Her phone started to ring while she was laughing.

She looked to see who was calling before she answered the call. "HAHAHA…hey Jeremie, heheheheh. Okay, heheheh, I'm good now. What is it?"

"Good news, we got her enrolled here. Why did you two step out anyway," Jeremie asked.

"We both wanted some fresh air. Today really is a lovely day, Jeremie," Aelita responded.

"Okay, well we're done here. Erethyr will be starting school tomorrow. On her record it shows here as being home-schooled until recently, so she may end up being in Damon's class for now," Jeremie explained.

Alright, thanks Jeremie. We'll be up there in a minute," Aelita stated.

"What was that all about," Damon inquired.

"Jeremie was just telling us that he and Erethyr are done. On her record it shows here as being home-schooled until recently. You never know, she might end up being in your class," Erethyr explained. This caused Damon to start blushing.

"Let's just get up there," Damon muttered, heading off to Jeremie's room with Aelita following him. When they got up there, they found Jeremie and Erethyr waiting for them.

"Go on, Damon. Why don't you show them what you made," Aelita inquired. Damon started to blush.

"What did you make, Damon," Erethyr asked, causing him to blush even more.

"You don't look like the kind of person that could make anything too complex," Jeremie stated, causing Damon's eyes to flash with anger, "but let's see it."

"Here," Damon said venomously towards Jeremie. He laid it down on Jeremie desk and opened it up, revealing all of the circuitry inside.

"What is it," Jeremie inquired, amazed at the craftsmanship.

"It's a charger for the Zune," Erethyr explained, "It will charge it up through solar energy and it has special surge protectors that should stop XANA from attacking either it or the Zune, as long as it's plugged in. But of course it's nothing too complex for muscle such as myself, right Jeremie." Jeremie hung his head after Damon's comment. He deserved to be hit after what he had said.

"Guess you can't judge a book by its cover," Jeremie declared apologetically.

"Yeah, I guess so. Well anyway, this is for you Erethyr. Think of it as a present for enrolling here," Damon said, blushing.

"Thanks. When did you build this," Erethyr asked.

"I built it yesterday while you were charging," Damon admitted.

"But I was only charging for eight hours. How did you build something this complex in that short of a time frame," Erethyr asked, honestly intrigued.

"Grampa Artemis taught me before his 'accident.' I just never use what he taught me." Damon explained.

"Why not, you seem to be really good at it," Erethyr inquired.

"That's what I asked him, but he said that he has an image to maintain. If anybody saw him doing this it would be shattered," Aelita explained, getting laughs from everybody there.

"Man, that's almost as funny as when we all got together," Jeremie proclaimed.

"You mean how Sissi almost joined up with us because she followed Odd to the factory," Aelita said.

"Yeah, and it was all because Ulrich had kidnapped his dog," Jeremie finished, bringing a new round of laughter from the four of them.

"Man, Sissi's a bitch. I can't believe that she was almost one of us," Damon said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"At least it all turned out for the best," Erethyr proclaimed.

"I actually got a present for you too, Erethyr. Actually it was the entire gang, we were just waiting for you to use the clone program before we gave it to you," Jeremie said, pulling a red and black cell phone with a flame design out of the drawer of his desk.

"Is this phone, for me," Erethyr asked, surprise coating her voice.

"Yep, and it has the number that we submitted in your enrollment application. We also programmed the number into all of our phones. You should be getting a call from Principal Delmas any second now, confirming your enrollment," Jeremie explained. Almost on cue, Erethyr's phone started ringing.

Erethyr answered the call, "Hello, who is this?"

"This is Principal Delmas. Am I speaking to Erethyr Arestho?"

"Yes, you are. What are you calling about," Erethyr asked, as if she didn't know.

"I'm calling to tell you that we have successfully enrolled you in Kadic Academy. When can we expect to see you and get you into your dorm room?"

"How about in a couple of hours? I'll have my friends help me move my stuff in," Erethyr said.

"I'll be at the gates then."

"Alright, thanks," Erethyr responded as she hung up. "Well, how about we go shopping and meet back up at the school gates in a couple of hours."

"Okay, but who's going with you," Damon asked, "You don't have any money on you, do you?"

"No, but you do Damon. Which is why you're coming with me," Erethyr insisted.

"Alright, but you owe me for this," Damon responded.

"How would I be able to repay you," Erethyr asked.

"How about going out with me," Damon answered.

Erethyr looked startled at Damon's request, but she settled back down after a few moments and said, "Sure, but you have to help me move in first."

"Sounds good," Damon stated. Damon and Erethyr went off to get her what she needed.

"Wow, he actually pulled that off rather smoothly. I think that he might have learned that from Odd," Jeremie commented.

"I guess he just needed the right moment to ask her out," Aelita added.

A couple of hours later, Damon and Erethyr were at the front gates to the school. They were fully loaded with clothes and other items packed into a couple of suitcases, and Damon's wallet was considerably lighter. "Man, and I had been saving all that up for the past two months too," Damon groaned.

"A friend in need is a friend indeed," Erethyr commented.

"So you must be Erethyr," a grey-haired man with a berard and glasses dressed in a brown suit said, "Why don't I show you up to your room. I suppose that you read the school rules before getting enrolled here."

"Yes, I did. But I'm only having Damon help me out with moving, so that shouldn't be breaking that rule," Erethyr stated.

"You are indeed correct," Principal Delmas said, taking the two friends up to the dorm rooms. A few minutes later they arrived at Erethyr's new room. "Here you are, you will have a roommate. Her name is Aelita Stones, now I've got other matters to attend to so I'll be off. I'll have Jim bring your bed in a little later." Principal Delmas headed off in another direction.

"So, Aelita's my roomie. This is going to be very interesting," Erethyr commented as she opened the door.

"What are you doing here," Aelita asked.

"Isn't it obvious, we're roommates," Erethyr exclaimed.

"Well, this is surprising," Aelita stated, obviously surprised.

The three friends moved Erethyr into her new room and within an hour Jim came up and set up her new bed. Needless to say, Erethyr was feeling exhausted, so she set up her new charger in the window and fell asleep quickly in her bed. "I'll see you later," Damon declared as he headed out.

The day quickly came to a close, but an evil was lurking just around the corner, just waiting to strike.


	7. Laughtrack

Disclaimer: For the last time...I DON'T OWN CODE: LYOKO!!! Sheesh, can't blame a guy for trying though.

A/N: Alright, I know that last chapter may have been kind of disappointing, but I swear this chapter is better. I even used spelchek. This chapter is pretty much Episode 72: Crash Course with my characters stuck in, making for a lot of funny moments. I decided to call this chapter Laughtrack because the group is laughing about every two sentences until the action starts happening. I even have my characters finally enter the main group in Miss Hertz's class. I even decided to play a little bit off of Odd going out on a date. I did, however, do nothing with Aelita's audition because I couldn't think of anything clever to do there. Now without further to do...Chapter 7: Laughtrack. Please R&R...after my last attempt to take over, all I have from my battalion of robotic chimps is a bunch of banana peels. So c'mon, step on them if you don't review me...please.

* * *

It was now Monday, in Miss Hertz's science class. And the principal was there with two students, one of which they all knew about but the other one was a mystery to all of them-save for two students, one of which was with the principal. "I have two students for you today. One of which has finally caught up with the rest of you," Principal Delmas said indicating Damon, getting a few laughs from the back, "And the other one is a new student here. Please introduce yourself, miss." 

"Hello, my name is Erethyr Arestho," Erethyr declared, getting a few stifled snorts for her weird name, "And I'm pleased to meet all of you." She said this last part through gritted teeth.

"Good, now find your seats. You can carry on now Miss Hertz," Principal Delmas declared as Damon and Erethyr found seats nearby their friends.

"Thank you, sir," Miss Hertz said, "Alright class, today we are going to be talking about aerodynamics and the four forces that keep a plane a plane in flight." At this point Odd was already snoring while everybody else was paying attention, despite the snores that were emanating from Odd.

After their classes for the day, Ulrich, Damon, Yumi, Aelita, and Erethyr were all gathered around a corner in the courtyard. "I can't believe that you two are actually together now," Yumi commented.

"What I can't believe, is that Odd hasn't given us grief yet," Erethyr stated.

"Speaking of Odd, he ought to be here by now, we're supposed to play foosball," Ulrich asked.

"You know Odd, something probably came up at the last minute," Yumi offered.

"Yeah, knowing Odd he's probably hiding somewhere because he knows I'll beat him," Ulrich stated.

Aelita looked over and saw Odd with a girl with red hair in braids wearing a yellow shirt and pink pants. "If you ask me it's that red-headed girl with braids," Aelita commented, getting the group to look in his direction.

"Well, what do you know," Ulrich stated, "Our ladies' man is at it again." Soon they were all in the Rec Room, and they were all giving Odd grief about his relationships while he was failing to try to explain what was so special about this girl.

"You collect girlfriends like other people collect stamps," Ulrich noted.

"There's something special about this girl," Odd stated.

"Oh, what could that be," Ulrich asked as ha and Damon both started to take a drink of their respective sodas.

"Well, for one thing she likes dogs," Odd declared, making Ulrich do a spit take while Damon quickly swallowed his drink, choking when it went down the wrong tube. Yumi, Odd, and Aelita were all laughing at this, but Erethyr was worried.

"Are you alright, Damon," Erethyr asked as he finished spluttering.

"Yeah, it just went down the wrong tube," Damon declared, smirking a little bit.

"What's up with you two anyway, why are you two acting so close all of a sudden," Odd asked, absolutely clueless ankd taking a spit of his own soda.

"That's obvious Odd. We've started going out," they both stated, looking at each other in surprise and laughing. Now, however, it was Odd's turn to take a spit take and he was far better at it than Ulrich-his went all over Ulrich's face.

"Thanks a lot Odd," Ulrich said sarcastically as he wiped his face off, "I really needed a shower." This brought a new round of laughs from the group.

"Well, anyway," Damon said as the laughing died down, "We're going to see a movie this afternoon."

"Hey, so are Camille and I, what movie are you guys going to see," Odd asked.

All three of them looked at each other and simultaneously said, "Petals of Desire." This brought out yet another round of laughs from the group.

"Well, do we have anything to drown out two hours of Odd's snoring," Erethyr asked Damon, getting a few snorts and chuckles.

"Man, we have got to stop laughing so much," Damon stated, "or at least get Jeremie in on it."

"Speaking of Jeremie, where is he today," Ulrich asked.

"He's in his room," Aelita commented, "Let's go up there and see what his latest problem is."

When they got up there and asked Jeremie what the big problem was, Jeremie declared, "My only problem is XANA. You remember the last few times that he attacked?"

"Which time," Odd inquired, "the one with the trees or the swimming pool?"

"Odd, agreed not to bring up what happened at the swimming pool, right," Ulrich warned.

"What happened at the swimming pool," Aelita asked.

"Nothing," Ulrich responded.

"Nothing at all," Yumi added. They were both blushing fairly hard.

"Whatever, I meant all the attacks recently," Jeremie interrupted, "Haven't you noticed what the target has been?"

"Well, yeah," Odd stated, "Us."

"Yeah, but especially me and Aelita," Jeremie stated.

"That makes sense," Damon said, trying to edge into the conversation, "If he takes you and Aelita out, nobody will be able send us to Lyoko."

"And if we can't go to Lyoko," Erethyr added, "then we can't stop XANA."

"Precisely, which is why you are all going to have a crash course in using the super computer this afternoon," Jeremie declared.

"What no way, count me out," Odd protested, "I'm going to the movies."

"And I've got a test to study for," Yumi added.

"And I've got martial arts practice," Ulrich groaned.

"Well," Erethyr looked at Damon, and he nodded knowing what she was going to say already, "Damon and I could postpone our date until tomorrow."

Jeremie was surprised at Erethyr and Damon's response, but he continued, "Well, that's good to hear. But I can't force the rest of you to come, just realize that if you don't you can't expect us to gain ground on XANA."

"You know, you're right," Yumi admitted, "but some days, it isn't easy being heroes."

"Then listen we'll meet up at the factory at four, and if you catch on quickly then we'll be done in a couple of hours," Jeremie stated.

"Okay," Odd said, admitting Jeremie's point and the group filed out of his room, save for Aelita and himself.

"Uh, Jeremie," Aelita said, "I…I can't make it this afternoon."

"But, Aelita," Jeremie objected, "I was hoping that you'd be there to help me out. Why can't you make it?"

"I've got my audition for the Subdigitals, you know for the concert Today's the final round of tryouts," Aelita declared.

What if something happens to me while you're gone," Jeremie continued to object.

"That's easy," Aelita continued, "I'll have my phone on me, so you can call me if something happens."

"Alright, good luck," Jeremie said, turning back to his computer screen.

"Thanks," Aelita responded as she pecked him on the cheek, making the genius blush.

* * *

The Factory

* * *

At four, all of the group, save for Aelita, was gathered at the computer lab. "Okay, to start off, we're going to go through a little bit of theory," Jeremie declared as he handed sheets of paper covered with notes to his friends. 

"Hey, Einstein," Odd interjected, "Wouldn't it be easier if you skipped to the practical side and showed us what buttons to push."

"Actually, I agree with Odd for once," Damon added.

"Yeah the purple pig with sweaty palms has a good point," Erethyr stated, getting a reaction out of Odd as he remembered the metal monster.

"C'mon," Jeremie objected, "Fooling around on the super computer isn't like a game console. Before I trust you guys with it, I have to know that you guys know its basic functions."

"Man," Erethyr groaned, "I'm envious of Aelita. At least she doesn't have to put up with this at her audition."

Aelita had gotten to her audition before all this was going on in the factory. She was last in line to give forth her audition, but within about fifteen minutes it was her turn to dazzle the Subdigitals.

* * *

An Hour Later, At The Factory

* * *

Jeremie was explaining away. Odd was snoring softly, and Erethyr and Damon were sleeping quietly, with Erethyr's head on Damon's shoulder and Damon's head nestled on top of Erethyr's head. "Any questions," Jeremie asked. 

"Yeah," Ulrich responded, "I've got one. How do you espect us to remember all of this blah blah junk."

"If you guys had been a little more attentive," Jeremie stated, "You guys would have been able to understand it."

"C'mon, Jer. Even Damon and Erethyr are in dreamland, and they usually soak this sort of thing up. Just show us some practical stuff, like materializing us on Lyoko. Or programming up the vehicles," Yumi objected.

"Okay, fine. I guess we may as well get to the practical end," Jeremie stated, admitting defeat.

Odd woke up and asked, "Are we there yet?" Damon and Erethyr also chose this moment to stir, and quickly set upright, blushing as they realized what they had been doing instead of paying attention.

"Now all we need is a guinea pig," Jeremie stated, and everybody looked at Odd.

"Why do I always have to be the guinea pig," Odd objected.

"Because you fit the part so well," Erethyr joked, getting laughs from the entire group. Odd just groaned and went down to the scanner room via the elevator.

"Just make sure you hit the right button Ulrich," Odd declared, "I don't want to end up there with four arms and three legs."

Ulrich hesitantly commenced with the virtualization process. When he finished Odd shouted, "AAHHH!!! You turned me into a garden gnome!!"

"Oh, shit," Ulrich shouted.

"Personally, I think it's an improvement," Damon quipped getting a few laughs.

"Ha ha, very funny wise guy," Odd stated, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "Actually, I got here just fine."

"Phew, that's a relief," Ulrich stated.

"Only, because I was here, and you weren't even under the stress of a XANA attack," Jeremie berated Ulrich. The super scan then started beeping, indicating that XANA had just activated a tower. "Give me my seat back!"

Ulrich got up and Jeremie immediately started typing away. "Activated tower in the mountain sector, head down to the scanners immediately."

"Somebody's cranky today," Erethyr quipped as a black wisp of smoke descended on them, causing the entire group to gasp. The black wisp of smoke coalesced into a man wearing a Men in Black get-up.

Ulrich and Damon both stated, "Leave him to me," as they rushed forward to attack this new creature of XANA. The agent just repelled both of their attacks and sent them flying. He then ripped a cord and shocked Jeremie with it, knocking him out cold.

The agent then disappeared as a wisp of smoke. "Is he okay," Ulrich asked while Damon clenched his fist in anger.

"Yeah, he's breathing," Yumi decalred, "but he took a lot of volts."

"Hey, uh guys," Odd suddenly stated, surprising everybody since they had forgotten about him, "remember me?!"

"We've got a problem. A polymorphic specter attacked and Jeremie's out cold," Ulrich announced.

"Well, it's a good thing that he showed us how to work the super computer," Odd commented.

"Yeah, that's right," Ulrich finally realized.

"But where could the specter of gone," Erethyr asked.

"Aelita," Yumi finally realized and she headed to the elevator, sending her a text telling her what had just happened.

"But, Yumi what am I supposed to do," Ulrich objected.

"Don't worry about it," Yumi declared, "You're doing a great job." The elevator door closed and she headed up.

"So what are we supposed to do now," Ulrich asked.

"Upload me," Erethyr stated, "The process will be different but the results will be the same. You can't just scan me in until I have a real flesh and blood form so…" She set the Zune down on the keyboard and plugged it in. As she did this her own polymorphic clone disappeared and her face reappeared on the screen as she said, "Don't worry about it, I'll guide you through it."

"Odd, you have to head to the mountain sector," Ulrich stated.

"Great, now where's the way tower," Odd asked, seeing as how he had been virtualized into the ice sector, "or better yet, where's my overboard?!"

Just then three blocks appeared to fight Odd. "Hey Odd," Ulrich announced, "You've got three thingamajigs coming your way."

"Great improvement," Odd quipped, "but those thingamajigs are actually blocks." Odd started dodging them as best as he could and managed to get one of them before he got his tail shot.

"Here you go," Ulrich declared as he finally managed to send Odd a vehicle.

"Eh, it's better than nothing," Odd stated, "but there's a problem, you were supposed to send it to me, not them." The overbike had been sent, and it was indeed behind the two remaining blocks. Odd continued to fire away, performing some acrobatic moves and destroyed one block, stepping off of the other, getting to the overbike, and driving off before the remaining block knew what was happening. When the block finally realized what had happened, it slumped slightly, displaying disappointmet. This is a feat to accomplish if you're just a Rubik's cube on four teeny-tiny little legs.

Ulrich now succeeded in uploading Erethyr into the mountain region and was trying to find where the way tower was but instead ended up pulling up a program with a timer on it. Damon was silently shaking in anger at being unable to protect one of his friends while all of this was happening. Ulrich decided to call Yumi and see if she's found Aelita so that he could sort all of this out.

* * *

In The Streets

* * *

The polymorphic specter had hijacked a car, and was in hot pursuit of Aelita and Yumi when Yumi got a call. "Yumi, I've pulled up a window and its got some numbers on it, do you have any ideas," Ulrich pleaded. 

"Better yet," Yumi stated, "I'll hand you to the expert." Yumi handed her phone to Aelita.

"Is there anything written above the window," Aelita asked.

"Big fat cheese head," Ulrich stated in disbelief.

"You just activated a delayed virtualization program," Aelita responded.

"Alright, thanks, I'm off to help Erethyr," Ulrich declared as he headed to the scanner room.

Aelita and Yumi were still being chased all the way to the factory. They managed to get to the computer room with the specter in hot pursuit. Yumi was surprised to see Damon right were she'd left him and was about to ask him what was wrong when Aelita looked at where Odd was and said, "Odd, the way tower is just a little further, bearing northwest of your position."

"Better late than never," Odd stated as he revved up the overbike and headed that way.

"Your turn now, Yumi," Aelita declared, "Virtualize me."

"But what about Damon and Jeremie," Yumi asked.

"They'll be fine," Aelita stated as she headed to the scanner room via a ladder.

Yumi had just virtualized Aelita in the mountain sector when the specter reappeared behind her and shoved her off of the desk. This got Damon's attention as he was now able to redeem himself. "You are picking on girls now, XANA," Damon declared with malice dripping from his voice, "Shame on you!!" Damon now put up an offensive, and this time nothing was going to stop him.

Ulrich, Erethyr, and Aelita were standing obscured from the view of their foes; William, three crabs, and two tarantulas; when Odd showed up.

"You sure took your time," Ulrich stated.

"Yeah, well at least I got here, no thanks to your directions. If you only knew how many towers I went through before I got to the right one," Odd retorted.

"So who finally gave you a compass," Erethyr quipped.

"That would be me," Aelita smirked, "We're going to need more vehicles Yumi."

When Yumi didn't answer, Aelita asked, a little bit concerned, "Do you read me Yumi? Yumi, answer us."

Damon threw his infamous right hook, and got blocked by a lightning blast that knocked him against the far wall. Damon got up after a couple of seconds and renewed his attack.

"Transmission problems," Odd asked.

"No," Aelita responded, "I think that the specter might be in the computer lab, and Damon and Yumi are fighting it off as we speak."

"Then one of us is going to have to go back," Ulrich stated, "I'll go, shoot me Odd."

"No, I'll go. I've got way less life points than you do, so it would be pointless for you to go. After all, that's exactly what we did during the swimming pool attack," Odd taunted him, scratching his cheek. He was hoping that Ulrich would take his bait.

"I don't ever want to hear about the swimming pool again," Ulrich proclaimed as he sliced right through Odd, devirtualizing him instantly. "That'll teach you, huh," Ulrich stated, not even knowing that he had played into Odd's plan. Odd came out of the scanner as soon as he got back to Earth and was holding his side as he got to the elevator.

Damon, meanwhile, had been launching himself at this invader and been repelled each time. He was starting to get a little bit dizzy when XANA said, "Pitiful human, if there's one thing I admire about you it is your rock-hard determination. That may have been what got you out of my clutches, but it is still an admirable trait. But tell me this, why are you trying so hard to protect this girl."

"Because she's my friend," Damon shouted with renewed vigor as he tried another frontal assault.

"Ah, that's right. I had forgot about your foolish human idea of friendship," XANA taunted as he blasted Damon with more lightning and this time kept on blasting while Damon was pinned against the wall. This was the sight that Odd came in upon, and nobody noticed. He took advantage of the opportunity and headed towards the live wire that was on the floor.

XANA stopped blasting Damon and admired his handiwork; it appeared as though he had passed out. Much was it to his surprise when Damon pried himself off of the wall. One look at his eyes revealed that he was going on sheer willpower alone. Damon's eyes had that sort of glassed-over look that sleepwalkers have, but he was still coming at XANA full force. He hit XANA and sent him flying right into the live wire that Odd was holding.

Odd helped both Yumi and Damon, whom had just passed out completely, over to the elevator and said, "Just make sure that he gets to the scanner, Erethyr should be able to take care of the rest."

"Think that you can virtualize us," Yumi asked weakly.

"Relax," Odd declared, "You forget that I'm a computer whiz." With that Odd started typing away at the super computer, pulling up everything that he needed.

On Lyoko, Ulrich and Aelita had managed to take out everything but William and Aelita was heading into the tower. William declared, "Super Smoke." He turned into a low-lying wisp of smoke and got to the tower before Aelita could.

Aelita said, "Energy Field," As she fired a pink blast of energy at William that he easily deflected before advancing upon her. Ulrich ran in to assist her but got thrown away by William's big-ass sword. Yumi and an unconscious Damon materialized on Lyoko just then.

"I'll try to wake him," Erethyr stated as she activated her own healing powers and focused them upon Damon. Within moments, the warrior was awakened. His costume was different now. Instead of the symbol of XANA that it had last time it now had a pentagram on it and the red lines were now white. "Nice costume change," Erethyr noted, "but what is that symbol on your chest?"

Damon looked down and stated, "It's the Celtic symbol. It is one of the more religious symbols of ancient times."

"Whatever, let's get to fighting," Erethyr responded as she drew her own scimitars.

Yumi and Ulrich charged in again and were devirtualized by William. Aelita backed up knowing that if she got devirtualized, XANA wouldn't be stopped until her character card was refreshed.

Odd declared, "I did it!" The polymorphic specter didn't reform until that point. Jeremie also chose that time to awaken. Odd was now on the receiving end of XANA's attack as Jeremie got back onto the computer. Odd backed into a wall with a goofy grin on his face and dared to say, "Hey, look up there." Odd pointed in one direction an XANA looked that way, so Odd attempted a run for it. XANA grabbed him so he added, "Heheheh, works most of the time."

William decided to take a hostage, so he took Erethyr. He instinctively knew that if she were devirtualized she'd be gone for good. He drew his blade up to her neck and Damon charged in. "No, Damon," Jeremie shouted, "If Erethyr's life points reach zero, she'll be gone for good."

This pissed Damon off, so much so that his own inactive Lyoko power emerged. His eyes started to glow red and smoke issued from the corners of them. His bangs also stood up and planted themselves on his head so that they looked like demon horns. The white lines also changed red flowing all the way into the symbol on his chest, which turned upside down. Damon howled in rage as Jeremie shouted, "I can't believe it!!! This is bad Aelita."

"What happened," Aelita inquired, a little bit afraid of her friends change in appearance. William was also taken aback by Damon's looks, especially since Damon was slowing walking towards him-laughing evilly enough to have the hairs on the back of everybody's necks stand on end.

"He activated his Lyoko power, it must have happened when he got pissed. He now has tremendous physical abilities, but until his target is defeated, he won't care who gets in his way," Jeremie explained frantically.

"Try downloading Erethyr," Aelita offered.

"Already on it," Jeremie stated as he typed frantically, getting Erethyr out of William's clutches.

Damon smirked and ran up behind William before he could even react and punched him in the back with enough force to send him flying about forty feet away, but not kill him. Damon wanted to toy with his new plaything. William got up off of his feet and tried to swing his sword at Damon. Damon just laughed and dodged the sword with ease. He even caught the last one and disarmed his opponent. He threw William's sword into the digital sea.

Aelita decided that now would be a good time to deactivate the tower. She rushed in there and put her screen on the blue panel that appeared before her.

* * *

AELITA

* * *

Damon brutalized William. He kept on trying to turn into smoke and get away, but Damon always hit him with just enough force to keep him from doing it, but not enough to kill him.

* * *

CODE

* * *

XANA was holding a live wire and was about to electrocute Odd-despite Jeremie, Ulrich, Yumi, and Erethyr trying to stop him.

* * *

LYOKO

* * *

The tower was deactivated and Damon started to hold his head, yelling in pain. William took this as his opportunity to get away. Aelita stepped out of the tower and saw a red smoke coming from Damon. When it had all dissipated, he slumped forward, unconscious. His body fell from the platform and Aelita blasted it quickly so that he wouldn't fall into the digital sea, becoming permanently virtualized like her father had been. 

In the computer lab, XANA's polymorphic specter had also dissipated, much to Odd's relief. Jeremie went over to his desk and materialized Aelita, noting that Damon had been devirtualized by her.

They quickly gathered in the computer lab and woke up Damon. "So what happened guys, did Aelita get you in there," Jeremie inquired.

"Me," Aelita stated, "I didn't do anything."

* * *

Later, At The Rec Room In The School

* * *

"At least now I know that if anything were to happen to Aelita and me," Jeremie declared, "I know that all of you will be able to take over." 

"What we really didn't do anything," Erethyr protested.

"Well," Damon stated, "I did get pissed and kick XANA and William's asses, while you walked Ulrich through uploading you."

"Well," Erethyr responded, "Yeah, there is that. I was just trying to be humble." This got the group laughing.

"But we do have to stop you from activating that power through anger again Damon. We've got to materialize you, Erethyr," Jeremie pointed out.

"Why, li'l ol' me," Erethyr stated like a southern belle, "What gave ya that idea." This got laughs from the entire group.

"So, anyway," Aelita interjected, "I've got good news. The Subdigitals decided that I should be the opening act for their concert, even though I walked out on them."

"That's fabulous Aelita, well done," Jeremie congratulated.

Odd walked up just then. Ulrich decided to ask, "By the way, how was Petals of Desire."

"Horribly," Odd stated, "I'm through with all that romantic stuff. What's more I broke up with Camille."

"Another one bites the dust," Erethyr jibed.

"I actually thought that it was a decent movie. Sure the plot was kind of dry, but what do you expect from a chick flick," Damon said, instantly realizing his bad choice in words.

"What did you say," all the female members in the group protested.

"Hey, I'm only a guy," Damon tried to object, realizing his poor word choice once again. He got three fists in his face and instantly went down, legs in the air and twitching, like a bad anime.

"Yeah, I'm more into action. Like that and the incident at the swimming pool," Odd declared, stifling a laugh at Damon's predicament.

Yumi growled, "Odd, don't talk about the swimming pool, okay."

"Hey, don't tell me your never going to tell us what happened at the pool," Aelita protested.

"Yeah," Erethyr added, "Inquiring minds want to know."

"Well it's simple really," Odd stated, "Um, remember the attack at the gymnasium?"

Jeremie stated, "Odd, we told you never to bring up the attack in the gym, right?!"

"Why, what happened in the gym," Ulrich asked.

"Oh, nothing," Jeremie quickly replied as he blushed.

"Nothing at all," Aelita also responded, blushing just like Jeremie.

"Sheesh, nobody ever tells me anything," Erethyr pouted. The entire laughed at this. Damon also tried to get up and was immediately knocked back out by Erethyr, bringing even more laughs out of the entire group.

Thus ended another run of the mill XANA attack, with nobody being the wiser about these seven friends' 'extracurricular' activities-saving the world and all.


	8. Materialization

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko...they bribed my last army of hippies that I sent over there with more weed than I was giving them.

A/N: ALRIGHT!!! Here's chapter eight...I don't know why I said alright though. I have yet to get a review. So I'm carrying through with one threat...a cameo from Sissi!!! I have a bit more action in this chapter. It could pretty much be called Code: Earth: Redux. You can probably tell what the main thing in this chapter is just from the name, but I swear there's a plot twist at the end. Anyway please Read and Review, I have a rubber chicken and I'm not afraid to use it if you don't!!

* * *

"Thank GOD it's Friday," Damon declared loudly. 

"Yeah, that means that we'll have all weekend to help you out, Erethyr," Yumi stated.

"Thanks guys, I really appreciate this," Erethyr said, blushing slightly.

"Shit, we've got trouble," Ulrich groaned as Sissi; a girl wearing a pink t-shirt with a yello heart on it, a yellow headband, mauve pants, and pink shoes, came walking up.

"Oh, Ulrich dear," Sissi cried out, "When are you going to ditch these dumb friends of yours and start going out with me?"

"About the same time that you grow your second brain cell," Ulrich stated.

"Hold on, let me quote something from your own mouth while your in the bathroom," Damon stated, clearing his throat.

"How do you know what I say in the bathroom," Sissi said incredulously.

"You'd be amazed what you hear when your girlfriend keeps track of people that she doesn't like," Damon declared as Erethyr smiled and made a 'V sign.'

"Oh really, like what," Sissi inquired with venom in her voice.

"'Oh, why doesn't he like me!', insert some sobs, 'Why do he and his stupid friends have to be so mean to me!', insert some bawling," Damon explained, making every word hurt. Sissi's eyes were tearing up and the rest of his friends were shocked by how far he was going.

"I swear Sissi, with all of your bawling in the bathroom," Damon continued, "You could make your own water park. I've even got a name for you: 'Sissi's Rain.' You could make thousands just by crying like a little baby about situations that you keep on getting yourself into." Everybody who had been listening in on Damon's rant gasped, they all knew that Damon had taken it too far. But Damon just stared at Sissi, inviting her to give him more openings to pick her apart with.

Sissi ran out of the lunchroom, her hands over her face, crying. "Damon," Erethyr and Aelita stated, "I think that you may have taken it a little too far."

"Yeah man," Odd stated, amazed at how far Damon took it, "Sure we may make jokes at her expense, but we have never made her cry before."

"You might need to apologize," Yumi said as the principal walked up to him, having heard everything that he had said.

"Why do I need to apologize to that stuck up bitch," Damon declared while his friends were all trying to signal for him to shut up, "As I said, she keeps on getting herself into these situations. She keeps on pretty much holds up a sign in neon that shouts 'Pick on me!' Further more, the principal is right behind me isn't he." Damon looked up then and gulped, knowing that he was in deep shit.

"To my office this instant," Principal Delmas shouted.

"Aw, man," Damon groaned, "Me and Sissi's big mouths."

* * *

At The Principal's Office

* * *

"I am severely disappointed in you. Why did you verbally assault my daughter so viciously," Principal Delmas demanded. 

"DAUGHTER," Damon thought to himself, completely caught off guard. He quickly recovered and thought of his counter-argument. "Well, you see," Damon said.

"ENOUGH," Principal Delmas cut him off, "You are going to have three hours of detention for three weeks, starting today! Now go to class!" He pointed a finger at the door and Damon left quickly. He had something to say to his friends.

He quickly found his friends and started to berate them, "Why didn't any of you tell me that Sissi was the principal's daughter. If somebody had told me that, then I wouldn't have done that and ended up with three weeks of detention. C'mon, he didn't even let me explain why I said all those things." He hit his forehead and slumped to the ground.

"Man, three weeks, that's harsh," Odd said.

"We all thought that you knew," Erethyr said.

"Even you knew," Damon responded, "Am I really that oblivious?!"

"Apparently so," Jeremie stated.

"Thanks a lot, Einstein," Damon groaned.

"Did he say that you had weekend detention too," Yumi asked.

"No, I don't think that he could have done that anyway. Since I'm a day student and all," Damon offered.

"Well, that means that we are going to have to postpone your materialization until tomorrow, Erethyr. Is that all right with you," Jeremie asked.

"Yeah, but we have to find some way to get him out of this," Erethyr declared.

"Impossible," Damon stated.

"Why is that," Erethyr inquired.

"If you had heard just how pissed he was, you'd understand," Damon groaned.

"Well, I guess that after class, the next time we'll be seeing you is at the factory tomorrow," Ulrich stated.

"At least I'll be able to catch up on all of my homework, maybe even draw a few schematics," Damon stated.

"Why are you feeling so inspired all of a sudden," Erethyr inquired, "I thought that you didn't like to build stuff."

"Jeremie and I got a closer look at my power, and what we saw wasn't good," Damon stated.

"What's the problem," Yumi asked.

"If I get devirtualized while I'm using my power, then when I reach the real world there's the possibility that I could lose all of my strength. Possibly even the ability to move at all," Damon stated, with a grimace.

"So, he's been trying to figure out some way to counteract that side-effect, if it should ever happen," Jeremie explained.

"Yeah, I think that I might have figured out a way to fix that problem, but it is risky," Damon declared.

"And what might that be," Ulrich inquired.

"Adrenaline, pure undiluted adrenaline," Damon answered.

"Yeah, I told him that XANA KO'd him in that last attack, but he kept on fighting. He yelled 'Of course!' and started to write some stuff down really quickly," Yumi added.

"Yeah, that's when I figured out that even if a body shouldn't be able to move, if that said body has enough adrenaline then he'd be able to move," Damon explained pleased with himself.

"Wouldn't there be any nasty side-effects of that as well," Aelita asked.

"Well of course. If my adrenal glands run completely dry, then I'd be even worse off than when I started. But while I am running on adrenaline, I would become more belligerent which would in turn cause me to create more adrenaline. This would of course fuel my anger causing an endless cycle until I get completely burnt out and pass out," Damon explained with a worried look on his face.

"Amazing, how did you figure all of that out," Jeremie inquired, amazed at Damon's analysis.

"Where you excel at book smarts Jeremie, I excel at mechanical skills and a little bit of bio-chemistry," Damon answered as humbly as he could.

"That's amazing," Jeremie commented, "So do you think that you might be able to figure out the technical problems?"

"Maybe," Damon responded, "That's what I'm going to be using my time in detention for, however."

"Well good luck with that," Odd stated, not even beginning to try to understand all of the technical mumbo-jumbo that just went on.

The bell rang and they all went to their classes, agreeing to meet at the factory at nine in the morning on Saturday.

* * *

Satuday, Nine O' Clock In The Morning

* * *

"All right guys, are you all ready for the plunge," Jeremie asked, Erethyr already plugged in and ready to be uploaded. 

"Sure thing, Einstein," Odd declared.

"Who's staying behind for the next round of transfers," Jeremie asked.

"I will," Damon stated.

"So will I," Ulrich declared.

"Alright, let's get started," Jeremie proclaimed as Odd, Yumi, and Aelita all stepped into the scanners. "Transfer, Odd. Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Aelita." Jeremie was typing fast and pulling up their three respective character cards.

"Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Yumi. Scanner, Aelita," Jeremie declared as their virtual forms appeared on his screen. Jeremie then hit the enter key and proclaimed, "Virtualization." Odd, Yumi, and Aelita's virtual forms appeared on Lyoko, and they fell onto the ground in the forest sector. They were near the exact same tower that they had used to materialize Aelita so long ago.

Jeremie repeated this process with Ulrich and Damon before he started to upload Erethyr. "Transfer, Erethyr. Upload, Erethyr. Virtualization," Jeremie proclaimed and Erethyr appeared with her friends.

"Looks like we all made it safely, Jeremie," Damon stated. Damon was in his normal Lyoko form with no trace of his power being active. The six Lyoko warriors headed towards the tower and took their positions while Erethyr entered the tower. Damon and Ulrich were at the front since they were the close combat people. Odd and Yumi took up point behind them so that they could fire at any enemy without worrying about hitting Ulrich or Damon. Aelita, however, had activated her bracelet and was flying above the rest to act as a scout and a line of defense against XANA's flying monsters.

Erethyr nervously decided to ask Jeremie a question, "Do you think that the systems here will recognize me like they did Aelita?"

"I don't see why they won't," Jeremie answered, not seeing the true question that Erethyr was asking.

Erethyr walked into the center of the first platform and was surprised when she was floated up to the second platform, something that no one other than Aelita had ever done. "Wow," was the only thing she had to say.

"I thought that might happen," Jeremie stated, "After all, you were created as a part of Lyoko by Damon's grandfather, right."

"Yeah, but I never thought that I would be able to do this," Erethyr commented as a blue screen popped up before her. "Does this mean that I might be able to deactivate towers too," she asked kind of hopefully.

"I don't think so," Jeremie answered, "I think that is just the system's way of recognizing you. Shall we start?"

"Yeah, hopefully we can do this before XANA gets wise to us," Erethyr stated as the tower began to rock.

Outside of the tower the fight had just begun, XANA had sent his full forces out in an attempt to stop them. Megatanks, crabs, tarantulas, hornets, mantas, blocks, and even the pitiful kankrelot had been sent in an effort to stop them from materializing Erethyr. Damon was punching megatanks into the digital sea as fast as they were sent to destroy the tower, but even then a blast hit the tower. Ulrich was destroying crabs with two clones of himself. Odd was destroying the tarantulas and having Jeremie reload him as fast as he ran out. Yumi was taking care of the blocks and the kankrelots, destroying large swaths of her enemies with but a single throw of her fan. Aelita, however, had the worst of it. She had to take down every hornet and manta by herself and was starting to feel the strain of it all.

One of the megatanks turned side ways and fired its arc-blast. Ulrich, Odd, and Damon all managed to avoid it, but Yumi, the crabs, tarantulas, and the blocks were all taken down as well as the tower getting solidly hit. Damon chose now to be a good time to get pissed, activating his Lyoko power.

Inside the tower, Erethyr had placed her hand on the screen and it registered her name as two words appeared on the next screen.

**CODE EARTH**

Jeremie started the process and the screens that lined the tower were starting to fly at her and circle around her.

Outside of the tower, Damon had assumed his demonic form and was laying waste to many enemies. A different megatank fired another arc-blast and took out Odd. XANA had slowed down his troop deployment and sent in only megatanks. That was when William arrived.

William ran up and took down Ulrich, leaving only Damon and Aelita still in the fight. Seeing Ulrich's demise only further fueled Damon's rage as he picked up a megatank and threw it into another, sending them both into the digital sea. Many more were rolling up to take their places, however. Aelita had been putting up a good fight against her flying opponents, but soon hesitated from exhaustion. The last manta fired a blast and knocked her out of the air and devirtualized her. Now all that was left were Damon, William, Erethyr, the tower, a lone manta, and about twenty megatanks.

Damon, even in his enraged state, knew that he was at the bad end of these odds. That wasn't going to stop him however. No matter how bad the odds, no matter how few life points he had, he would never stop fighting. The manta tried to fire at him, but he dodged it and picked up another megatank. He threw it at the manta, taking it out and landing the maegatank in the digital sea. About five other megatanks fired at the tower simultaneously.

Erethyr was almost finished with her materialization when she felt the tower rocking dangerously, but she couldn't stop now. If she stopped, all of her friends' sacrifices would be lost. They had lost so much just trying to materialize her, and she didn't want it to be on her shoulders that the attempt had failed. "Please, just hold out a little bit longer. That's all I ask," Erethyr thought.

Damon was battered and bruised. He had finally managed to take out every megatank, but he only had ten life points left and was thoroughly exhausted. The only opponent he had left to take out was William, then it would be all over. William swung his sword and hit the tower with his own arc-blast that hadn't been seen since when he was destroying the core of Lyoko. The tower shuddered from the impact and Damon just got even madder.

"Damon, the tower can't take another hit like that. You've got to stop William at all costs," Jeremie shouted over the mic.

"Yeah, kick his ass," Ulrich shouted.

"Take him down," Odd proclaimed.

"Beat the shit out of that lady killer," Yumi cheered.

"Give him what he deserves," Aelita shouted.

Damon just smirked. His friends were cheering him on. Friends. That word clicked in Damon's mind and he was racked with pain, but it soon subsided. The pain that racked him was his rage power running out. He was now standing before William in a state of rapture, his outfit had returned to normal. He knew that there was no way that William could win. Good always triumphs over evil. That is one of the universal laws.

Erethyr had just finished the materialization process and was going to the scanners at that exact moment.

"I don't believe it," Jeremie stated.

"What happened," everybody else asked.

"At the exact same moment that Erethyr finished the materialization process, Damon went out of his rage. And his life points are actually regenerating somehow," Jeremie proclaimed, shocked beyond all reason.

"What," everyone yelled as they looked at the screen. Sure enough, Damon had just regained all of his life points.

"This is unbelievable," Aelita stated.

"Yeah," Yumi stated, "I think that I'd better go welcome Erethyr."

"Me too," Ulrich commented.

"Not me," Odd declared, "I've got to see how this fight finishes out." Ulrich and Yumi headed to the scanner room via the elevator, but Aelita and Odd were entranced by the fight that was unfolding.

William howled in anger. His objective was lost, and he was going to take his frustrations out on the last of the Lyoko warriors. He swung his sword at Damon, but Damon just dodged his every slash. William tried an overhead swing, but Damon just dodged that too, allowing William's sword to get stuck in the ground. Damon gathered all of his strength into one final punch. He hit William in the cheek and sent him flying off of the edge of the platform. William exploded in a puff of red and black smoke as a result of the damage before he even hit the water.

Damon was just about to cheer victory, but he felt a presence right behind him. He turned around and saw something that had been haunting his nightmares since his first day at Kadic Academy. A black cloaked figure was standing right there, as though it had been waiting right there for him for some time.

"Who are you," Damon demanded.

The figure just laughed and said, "I guess I don't need this anymore." It threw away the cloak and in front of him was a boy that appeared to be about the same age that he was. This boy had spiky red hair and a mark over his left eye…the mark of XANA. He was wearing a blood red jumpsuit with red lines over his shoulders and sides. He had a bow slung over his back, but it appeared as though he had no use for arrows because he didn't even have a quiver.

"YOU," Damon yelled with venom dripping from his voice.

"Long time no see, Damon," the figure stated calmly, "How long has it been…two weeks. Yeah, that sounds about right."

"What is it Damon, who is that in front of you," Jeremie asked.

"That," Damon stated, "Is XANA!!!"

"WHAT?!" Jeremie and Aelita shouted incredulously as the elevator doors opened.

"What is it," Erethyr asked, wondering what the big fuss was about.

"XANA has just shown himself," Aelita answered. Erethyr started shaking with anger.

"How dare he show himself after what he has done to everyone here," Erethyr hissed.

"It's good to hear you too, Erethyr," XANA stated, almost cheerfully.

"Why have you come here XANA," Damon shouted venomously.

"Is that any way to talk to the one that brought you here," XANA responded, getting an even worse reaction from Damon.

"YOU FUCKING KIDNAPPED ME!!! WHAT YOU EXPECT ME TO JUST FUCKING COME RUSHING INTO YOUR MOTHER FUCKING ARMS AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO ME," Damon yelled, venting some of his anger.

"Have you already forgotten what I told you," XANA said shaking his head, "Tsk, tsk. For shame, and to think I came out here just especially for you."

"I'm gonna give you to the count of three to vanish, or else," Damon hissed.

"Or else what," XANA cut him off, "You actually think that you can beat me."

"That's what I'm gonna find out," Damon shouted, charging at XANA.

"You humans are so predictable," XANA said off-handedly as he dodged Damon's bum-rush and drew his bow. He drew the string back and an arrow red energy appeared. Damon turned around and saw the arrow flash right beside his face.

"RRAAHHHH," Damon yelled as he attacked again.

XANA punched Damon in the gut, knocking all of the wind out of him and stated, "Remember who your enemies really are, and then we'll talk again." XANA fletched another arrow and shot Damon in the head before vanishing himself.

Damon reappeared in the scanners shortly afterwards, curled into a ball. "Damon!! Are you all right," Erethyr asked frantically as soon as she got down there with everyone else in tow.

"Uhn…my head hurts," Damon groaned after a few moments with Erethyr holding her breath.

"Don't you ever do that to me again," Erethyr commanded collapsing on top of him, crying.

"Do you know what XANA was talking about when he told you to remember who your enemies really are," Jeremie asked.

"No, I don't remember very much from when I was under his control. I think that he might have had me in a constantly enraged state," Damon responded, suddenly unsure of himself.

"It doesn't matter baby, we're here for you now," Erethyr softly sobbed into his chest.

"It has to matter greatly if XANA would actually show himself," Damon stated, he seemed troubled. It was as though he was trying to recall the ghost of a memory.

"Yeah, he has never shown himself before, but he has talked to me a couple of times in the same attack," Jeremie declared, remembering the time that XANA had made a polymorphic clone of him while he was wiping out Lyoko.

"This is bad," Ulrich stated as Damon started to get up, but he was feeling a little light-headed.

"You okay there, hero," Odd inquired.

"Yeah," Damon responded, "I think that I just need to get some rest. I guess I'll see you guys on Monday." Damon headed home, holding his head on his way out.

"Sometimes I worry about him," Erethyr stated.

"Just sometimes," Yumi responded, "We worry about his mental health a lot, especially since he tried to commit suicide."

"He's just…troubled right now," Erethyr declared, trying to assure herself.

"Yeah," Ulrich stated, "Let's just lay off of him for now. He's been through a lot today."

"And I have a feeling that things are only going to get worse," Aelita commented.

"Yeah, trouble just seems to follow him everywhere," Odd chimed in.

"We all need to get some rest," Jeremie stated.

"But it's only noon," Odd grumbled.

"Okay, food then rest," Erethyr responded, "At least now I won't have to fake eating. I might even end up eating like the purple pig with sweaty palms over here." Everyone but Odd was laughing at this joke.

"Come on guys," Odd grumbled, "It's not that funny…"

"Oh yeah," Erethyr stated after the laughing ended, "I need to get Damon's Zune back to him. I'll do that after lunch, I'm starving."

"At least that's one thing that we can agree on," Odd agreed, holding his grumbling stomach. They all left the factory after Erethyr grabbed Damon's Zune.

They continued like nothing had happened, save for their jubilation at successfully materializing Erethyr. However, Damon was not quite so jubilant. He was in a lot of turmoil because he was now trying to remember all that had happened when XANA had taken control of him. He somehow knew that it was very important, but he just couldn't quite place his finger on why.

Another person was watching from the shadows though. A black cloaked figure and all he had to say was, "Good, he's finally remembering, maybe now I can gather the assistance that I need…"


	9. Nightmares

Disclaimer:I do not own Code: Lyoko, my armies have been mobilized again.

A/N:Here we are again in beautiful chapter 9. I said that there was a bit of a twist at the end of the last chapter, didn't I. Part of what I'm doing with this chapter is revealing a major character flaw in Damon, to counteract the powerful stuff that I have given him. I'm also explaining what happened during his fight with William that allowed him to leave his anger behind, from his perspective. What I would love, however, is some reviews. Even if I get one saying something completely unrelated to the story, I would be happy. Now as always I'm pretty much speaking, so here's your 'or else' comment. Please R&R, or else I will tickle you until you cry.

* * *

Damon was engulfed in darkness. He couldn't feel anything that was going on around him, all that he knew was the darkness. But there was something strange about the darkness now, something that he just couldn't place it. He looked around him and found a small square illuminating the darkness. He went over to it and it had three faces in it, but he couldn't recognize any of them. One was a kid with spiky red hair that had a weird looking eye symbol over his left eye. Another was this beautiful red-headed girl with green eyes that he thought that he should remember. The third was another girl, this one had long silver hair and black eyes that seemed to draw him in, the same kind of black that he was currently surrounded in.

He tried to get away from these faces, but no matter how fast he ran he couldn't move. The silver haired girl laughed at his plight while the red-head seemed to be trying to help him. The spiky haired kid came out of his picture and faced him. He seemed to be speaking but Damon couldn't understand what he was saying. "this is the face of your enemy, remember it well for I will come for you someday. When that day comes I will be asking for your help," this strange kid was saying weakly. Damon didn't understand a word he said, and he couldn't even ask him what he was saying. The darkness then took on the look of water…

Damon woke up and sat bolt upright in his bed. He held his head as though he were trying to chase away some sort of illusion. "Another nightmare, this one was worse than the others though," Damon muttered drowsily, "I couldn't even remember her name. And what was XANA trying to say to me. I couldn't understand him."

Damon looked over at his clock and groaned, "It's only one in the morning. I'll never get to sleep. It's been a week since XANA showed himself to everybody, and they don't seem to be as affected by it as I am. Maybe I'm just trying to over examine this. Maybe all I really need to do is sleep. Yeah, that sounds good." Damon lay back down and tried to get back to sleep. He had that same nightmare again but this time he could barely hear a few words of what the boy with spiky red hair was saying. He slept fitfully until about seven when he had to get ready for school.

On the walk to school, Yumi was noticing that Damon was looking like he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep in about a week. "Damon, are you feeling alright," she asked.

"Huh," Damon responded, "No, I've been having the same nightmare for the last night, but it's finally starting to get clearer. I keep on waking up at this certain part before I can find out very much, however."

"Well," Yumi declared, "remember that after your detention today Jeremie's wanting all of us to go into the net. He even modified the Skiff so that Erethyr could come with us."

"I wait with bated breath," Damon muttered. Classes went normally that day, no sign of a XANA attack. There was only one thing out of place, Sissi. She hadn't bothered their group since Damon had gotten her to run away crying. The group wasn't complaining, quite the opposite-they were enjoying the peace that had been nice. Damon was even finishing up his schematics for his new device while in detention.

After his detention and a quick stop at a hardware store, Damon met the rest of his friends at the factory. As soon as he got there Odd said, "Took you long enough. We've been waiting for you for about an hour."

"Sorry about that, I went into a hardware store so that I could get the parts that I need for that device," Damon explained.

"You ready for the plunge," Jeremie asked.

"Ready as I'm gonna be," Damon responded. The six friends made their way to the scanner room, leaving Jeremie to man the super computer. Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd entered the scanners first.

"Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Ulrich. Transfer, Odd," Jeremie proclaimed typing away. "Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Ulrich. Scanner, Odd. Virtualization." Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd all appeared in Sector Five and waited for their friends.

"Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Erethyr. Transfer, Damon," Jeremie proclaimed as he started the process again. "Scanner, Yumi. Scanner, Erethyr. Scanner, Damon. Virtualization." Yumi, Erethyr, and Damon joined their friends in Sector Five and made their way through the labyrinthine complex until they reached what looked like a turkey baster with five nodes along the tube and two wing-like appendages at the top.

"So, that's the Skiff," Damon stated.

"Yep, just head to one of the circles and it'll transport you to one of the pods," Yumi declared, noticing the addition of a fifth circle on the outside of the central circle. Each one of them headed onto one of the circles.

"Energize," Jeremie stated and all of them were transported into their appropriate positions. Odd, Yumi, Damon, and Ulrich were all transported to the pods at the sides. Erethyr was transported into the pod at the point, and Aelita was transported into the helm at the top of the Skiff.

"Leaving dry dock," Aelita stated, pressing a few buttons and leaving Sector Five in favor of the desert region, hovering above the digital sea.

"Wait, did you just say 'dry dock,'" Damon inquired, sounding really panicked.

"Yes. Why do you ask," Aelita asked.

"I don't think that I'm going to like this," Damon gulped. The Skiff plummeted into the digital sea and left Lyoko to enter the net. When the got into the net, the wing-like appendages lifted forming stabilizers for their digital submarine while the long part with the pods lifted until it was in front of Aelita. The lights turned on and Damon saw what looked like a submerged underwater city before he closed his eyes and started trying to calm himself down. "I'm in this nice safe pod, I don't need to worry about the water. As long as I'm in here I don't have to worry about the water."

"What's the matter Damon," Erethyr asked, she was concerned for his safety.

"I have something to confess," Damon declared meekly.

"What is it, are you afraid of a little water," Odd jibed.

"Yeah…it's called 'acute hydrophobia.' You might have heard of it. Me and water don't mix very well," Damon shouted. He was shaking in fear.

"What brought this along," Ulrich inquired.

"Back when I was a little kid, I almost drowned at the city pool," Damon explained frantically.

"That's happened to a lot of people," Yumi tried to reason with him.

"Thirty times," Damon shouted. He was freaking out badly by now, he was even trying to curl himself into a little ball.

"Oh…that would do it," Erethyr tried to sympathize with him.

"Try to imagine something that will calm you down," Ulrich offered, "That works for me and I have vertigo."

"Just imagine that there is no water," Odd said lightly.

"….I'll try," Damon responded after a long pause. He took a deep breath and tried to visualize that he was just flying upside-down over a large, sprawling city. He opened his eyes and almost instantly freaked out again.

"Just keep a hold of that image that you had in your head," Ulrich stated realizing that Damon was freaking out again. Damon closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before trying again.

This time when he opened his eyes, he saw exactly what he had visualized. "I think I might be able to handle it for now, but don't expect me to come back here often," Damon declared, getting cheers from the rest of his friends.

"Let's go, we've got to see if we can find William's digital DNA," Aelita said, "We might even find my father…"

The Skiff made its way through the net until the radar registered trying to find some trace of anything that could be useful. Eventually, they found a sphere underwater. "Jeremie, it looks like we've found another world, want us to approach," Aelita asked.

"Yeah, we need to gather as much information as possible," Jeremie answered. Aelita directed them towards the sphere when the water suddenly turned red.

"I'm guessing that that isn't good," Damon understated.

"No," Yumi responded, "That means that we're going to have to face off some off XANA's minions."

"Great," Damon groaned, feeling as though something just didn't click with Yumi's statement, "XANA's evil reaches even here."

Four eel-looking things with huge teeth swam to meet them. With them was William, in a pod that looked more angular and evil than the Lyoko gangs' own. "Detach," Aelita proclaimed, pressing five levers that came back down as she released pressure. The five pods detatched from their appropriate spots in order to meet their enemies.

"Odd, you and the others take on the eels," Erethyr commanded.

"What about you," Damon asked.

"I'll take on William. If any of you guys destroy your enemies, help me dispatch William I haven't already," Erethyr declared. Odd, Yumi, Damon, and Ulrich all went after their intended targets while Erethyr got into a dogfight with William.

Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich quickly destroyed their foes, but instead of helping out Erethyr they decided to make sure that Damon got the hang of his sub. Damon was moving frenetically, as if he was pushing random buttons to figure out what they did. He was indeed doing this, but he was looking cool doing it. Once he figured out what every button configuration did, he set to work destroying the eel.

He did a slalom to avoid any of the structures that were around him while swooping around behind the eel before it could figure out what was going on. While the eel was looking around wildly for its target, Damon fired a couple of torpedoes at it. He hit it dead on, destroying it instantly. "It's been 'reel,' but I'm afraid you suck," Damon quipped, getting groans from everybody that was listening-even Odd.

"Man," Odd groaned, "just don't say horrible puns like that again."

"Yeah, that was just in bad taste," Yumi commented.

"Not even Odd sinks that low," Ulrich added.

"I think that Erethyr might be in trouble, she hasn't crowed about blasting William yet," Aelita shouted.

"C'mon guys, we gotta hurry," Damon declared as the four of them went after Erethyr.

Erethyr was indeed in trouble. She had thrown everything that she had at William, but he had dodged her every attack. Now she was on the defensive, just trying not to get destroyed. She pulled a corkscrew maneuver and then zipped right through the middle of her own stream. William was surprised by this tactic and didn't fire at her as she passed right by him. Damon was the first to arrive on the scene and didn't hesitate to open fire on William. William dodged this and barely dodged Odd's attack. Yumi was the next on the scene pulling in right behind the now running William. William tried to circle back behind her but was surprised when Ulrich appeared out of nowhere and blasted him. William's ship was instantly destroyed, disappearing in a blast of black smoke and red particles. Damon, however, saw something that disconcerted him. At the very center of the explosion there was a slight silvery sheen.

"What the," Damon whispered.

"Thanks for saving me guys," Erethyr thanked her saviors, "I don't know how much longer I would have lasted if you hadn't come in when you did."

"No problem," Odd declared, "It's definitely nothing compared to saving the world from a demonic virus."

"And he's so humble too," Yumi stated, giggling a little bit.

"I know," Odd responded, "aren't I."

The group reformed onto the Skiff in the positions that they had started from and Aelita continued towards the sphere. They stopped right in front of the access port and the Skiff went into its erect position and started beaming data into it. "It's coded. It'll take me a minute to crack the code," Jeremie declared as he started trying to hack into the code.

"So, do you have any other fears that you'd like to talk about Damon," Ulrich asked trying to make small talk.

"Well, I do have this thing against purple dinosaurs and the demonic music that they sing," Damon joked. Everybody but Erethyr laughed.

"What do you mean," Erethyr asked, not getting the joke.

"It's a children's TV show," Yumi explained, "There's this purple dinosaur that teaches grade school kids valuable life lessons and at the end of every episode they sing this horrible song."

"Yeah," Odd chimed in with a shudder, "it's downright creepy."

"I might just have to see what you guys are talking about," Erethyr sighed.

"I'm telling you, that dinosaur and its music is demonic," Damon declared, getting a few more laughs.

"You are crazy Damon," Ulrich stated, "But that's why we like you."

"Just realize, though, I'm not too keen on coming back down here any time soon," Damon proclaimed.

"That's understandable," Aelita stated, "Before we make another trip into the net, we'll ask you if you feel like you are up to it."

"I appreciate that," said Damon.

"Got it," Jeremie proclaimed, startling everyone. The lock opened, allowing the Skiff to enter unhindered. The access port closed behind them and they made their way up a long tube until they emerged from the digital sea in this new world. There was only one landmass to this world. It looked like ancient Aztec ruins in the middle of a sprawling forest.

"Wow," Damon said.

"Amazing," Erethyr stated.

"Looks like it would fit in an Indiana Jones movie," Odd declared, ruining the moment.

"Just as long as there are no giant rolling boulders," Ulrich declared, "I think that we will be alright."

"The holomap is showing that there is something inside of there. Do you guys want to attempt to retrieve it," Jeremie inquired.

The six Lyoko warriors conferred amongst themselves before Erethyr said, "Sure, this could be fun."

"Energize," Aelita declared and everybody appeared on the landscape, Star Trek style.

"Now all we need is Spock and our group would be complete," Damon joked. Everyone groaned at this bad joke.

"Let's just get inside before Damon cracks any worse jokes," Ulrich groaned.

Everyone but Damon agreed at Ulrich's statement. "I didn't think that the joke was that bad," Damon muttered. The entire group went into the ruins to explore and find what Jeremie saw.

The ruins were covered in vines and cobwebs. There were traps everywhere, everything from poison darts to spiked pits made an appearance here, catching everyone off guard at least once. Damon had taken the lead and was relying on his dodging skills to get them through all of this. They eventually made their way into a chamber with a giant stone statue on the far end and a raised pedestal in the center. This pedestal had an orb with a silvery sheen to it that disconcerted Damon.

"What is it, Damon," Erethyr asked.

"I dunno," Damon stated, "Something just doesn't feel right here."

"Is that the item Jeremie," Aelita asked.

"Yes, it is," Jeremie answered.

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go get it," Odd proclaimed, rushing to the pedestal. He stepped on a pressure plate and tripped in it. "Uh oh."

The ground rumbled beneath all of them and the statue pried itself from the wall without making any rumble. "So which Indiana Jones movie does this remind you off Odd," Damon asked hysterically.

"I don't remember this in an Indiana Jones movie, but it sure does seem trite and cliché," Odd responded looking up at the towering figure.

"This seems very unoriginal," Aelita stated.

"It's been done way too many times," Ulrich said.

"Well it does usually succeed in stopping the adventurers from taking the treasure," Yumi chimed in.

"Shit," Damon and Erethyr both hissed.

The friends looked at each other and shook their heads, already knowing what to do. Aelita took to the air; Yumi hung back to use her fans; Ulrich, Damon, and Erethyr were squaring off against the golem; and Odd was going after the orb. Jeremie decided to get creative and play some battle music from Final Fantasy in the background. "This golem is tough, it has three hundred life points," Jeremie declared.

"Thanks Jer," Damon said.

The golem took a gigantic swing at Damon and Erethyr. Damon dodged its fist while Erethyr jumped on top of it and ran up to its neck. The golem tried to hither while she was up there but she stabbed one of her scimitars into its neck and used it to swing across to the other side. The golem hit itself and seemed kind of dazed. Yumi threw her fans and hit the golems left eye. It howled in pain and covered its injured eye. Aelita then said, "Energy Field," and fired a pink ball of energy into the golem's gut, causing it to howl in even more pain.

"The Golem is down to one hundred and seventy-five life points," Jeremie proclaimed.

"Nice job, ladies," Ulrich commented going in for his attack at high speed.

"Leave us some," Damon added also going in for his attack.

Ulrich cried, "Triplicate. Super Sprint," and there were three of him running up the monster to attack its neck.

Damon roared and his Lyoko power activated. He went into his enraged form and proceeded to swing away at the golem's ankles, taking chunks of them with every punch. The golem was howling in pain and tried to kick its newest attacker away. Damon clung onto the handholds that he had just created and managed to not be kicked into next week. Ulrich and his clones and managed to reach the golem's neck and they along with Erethyr began to chop away at its exposed neck.

The golem was now staggering; it had taken some massive damage. Simultaneously Damon took out its right ankle, leaving it unbalanced, and Erethyr and the Ulrichs had taken a massive chunk out of its neck. Aelita and Yumi both fired their projectiles at the golem's neck, taking its head off of its shoulders.

The golem fell back and shook the orb out of its place on the pedestal. Before it could get too far away, though, Odd grabbed it and held it triumphantly over his head. Damon got out of his enraged state now that the foe had been defeated. Ulrich stepped up to him first and asked, "I thought that you couldn't control your power. What happened?"

"Last week when we materialized Erethyr, I was facing William," Damon explained, "And I felt it when she was materialized. I felt a state of rapture. It was as though I suddenly knew how to focus my anger. At that moment I got out of my rage and proceeded to kick his ass without it. I know this sounds kind of cheesy, but feeling her become real was enough to put my savage nature to rest."

"You're right," Yumi stated, "That does sound cheesy."

"What it sounds like you're saying is that beauty conquered the beast," Odd laughed.

"Exactly," Damon agreed, "It just felt weird, but it's true."

"Well, anyway," Aelita said pointing towards their prize, "Let's get that to Sector Five so that Jeremie can analyze it better."

"Agreed," Erethyr said, touched by Damon's words.

"The sooner we get back the better. I really don't relish the idea of being underwater for very long," Damon proclaimed, ruining the moment for Erethyr.

They made their way back to Lyoko without incident and placed the orb inside the same chamber with the Core of Lyoko. The orb started to float around it, almost as though it was resonating with it.

"I'll be spending the rest of the night analyzing this," Jeremie proclaimed, "Why don't the rest of you head on home and get some sleep. You've earned it." The group was materialized and went their separate ways. Damon decided to walk Erethyr home, however. They stopped at the front gates to Kadic Academy.

"Just remember, Damon," Erethyr declared, "We still have a date this weekend."

"I know, and I already have some stuff planned out," Damon said. They looked at each other and looked like they were about to kiss. Instead they turned away from each other, blushing. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, See you before class," Erethyr blushed deeper and headed through the gates.

Damon walked home at that point and thought to himself, "I should have kissed her. Why didn't I do it. Err, stupid, stupid, stupid. I just hope that I can get a good night's sleep tonight." When he got home he went to sleep, only to have to go through his nightmare once again. He wondered what it meant, but its meaning escaped him for now.


	10. Dodgeball

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. But I am currently finishing a deal with them: I don't attack them and I won't own Code: Lyoko...hey, wait a minute...

A/N: Here we are, at the end of the second string of chapters and...yeah, um...yeah. I still don't have a single review. I've even allowed anonymous reviews three chapters ago once I figured out that, no...um, yeah. Shut up!! I'm still new to this. Anyway, some of you are going to hate the plot twist at the end, but it closes up any questions you might have had about Damon's nightmare. Especially its changing. Please R&R, I finally managed to rebribe the army of hippies. They might even still be sober enough to still kind of know whats going on while they freak you out if you don't...AGAIN!!!

* * *

Damon and Yumi were walking to school, talking about the latest XANA attack. "When will XANA realize that he can never truly beat us. We kick his ass at every turn, even a computer virus should realize that something is wrong by now," Yumi proclaimed. 

"Yeah, but something just seemed off about the whole thing," Damon stated.

"What do you mean," Yumi inquired, she was usually amazed at the insight that Damon had in a variety of situations.

"What I mean is that every time a monster exploded there was a silvered sheen in the middle. From what you guys have told me, XANA's monsters are supposed to just explode red. Nothing but red, yet there is a slight hint of silver hidden in the middle of every one," Damon explained with his brow furrowed.

"That does seem very unusual," Yumi stated, thinking back and realizing that there had indeed been a silver sheen in the middle of every monsters explosion. She tried to trace back when the change had occurred, but just couldn't place it.

"What's more, the objective of the attacks has changed from just trying to get rid of the only people standing in his way. Now the attacks try to cause as much damage to as many people as possible. The only exception being the more recent of the two cafeteria monsters," Damon continued.

"You might be on to something," Yumi declared, "but let's talk to Jeremie before we come to any conclusions."

"A little bit late on my end," Damon admitted, "My nightmare recently changed, and it has become most disconcerting."

"How so," Yumi inquired.

"Now instead of there being just floating faces, there are three orbs. Where there was once the silver-haired girl, there is now a silver orb. Where Erethyr was, now there is a green orb. As for XANA, he has changed into a red orb. Now I'm even seeing them being created, three separate strands of data, originating from the same starting point. Last night, the orbs even decided to reveal their natures to me," Damon explained.

"What happened," Yumi asked, starting to worry about her friend.

"Well, the silver orb was attacking me while the green orb was trying to save me. The red orb was just floating on its own, however, just trying to tell me something. All I heard was 'Enemy' and 'I will come for you someday.' I felt as though there was more to the message, but I just couldn't understand it. I just know that I have to hear the entire message. Then more will become clear to me," Damon answered.

Yumi was almost ready to declare Damon officially crazy. She bit her tongue, however, because Damon was usually right about a great number of things. They walked the rest of the way to school in silence and soon reached the front gates. Their friends were waiting for them.

"Good news," Jeremie declared, "It took me a couple of weeks, but I finally managed to finish analyzing the silver orb that is now circling the Core of Lyoko."

"What is it," Erethyr asked.

"Or better yet," Ulrich asked, getting straight to the point, "Who made it?"

"It seems to be part of a set of three orbs with varying abilities. This one seems to have the ability to cause wide-scale destruction, so we're going to have to keep an eye on it," Jeremie explained, "As for the question of who made it, that would be Dr. Gina Aurum-a brilliant computer programmer from the United States. I frequently read her work, it was actually thanks to reading her literature that I came up with the Code: Earth program."

"Why would she have created a virtual world of her own and put that orb there," Aelia asked.

"I don't know," Jeremie stated, "but on a hunch I checked your father's diary. He actually mentions that she is among the three computer techs that splintered off of Project Carthage. He and a Professor Artemis Lerath were the other two." Damon and Erethyr both gasped at this news.

"My grampa," Damon whispered.

"My creator," Erethyr whispered.

"This has to be more than just a coincidence," said Ulrich.

"It is," Erethyr responded, "Professor Lerath kept in contact with Doctor Hopper. Hopper said something about creating a program named XANA. Just before they lost touch, he said that XANA had gone rogue and that he had to deactivate it. Then nothing. He never mentioned Doctor Aurum though."

"Well, there's one mystery solved. But that only raises many more questions," Jeremie stated.

"Wouldn't it be weird if they each created their own A.I's but Erethyr was was the only one that wasn't evil in any way," Odd joked.

"Next time we have a mystery on our hands, let's just turn to Detective Odd," Yumi joked, getting laughs from the entire group. Damon's laughs quickly turned into a puzzled look, however.

"What is it Damon," Erethyr asked.

"This just reminds me of the most recent version of my nightmare. That actually makes a lot of the pieces of the puzzle fit, but there are still too many missing to get the whole picture," Damon responded before telling the rest of his friends what he told Yumi. Before any further speculation could occur, the bell rang signaling for the students to get to their classes.

"Lucky us," Ulrich declared, "We got gym first today."

"I'm not quite so lucky, I've got a French exam today," Yumi groaned.

"Good luck," said Aelita.

"Thanks," Yumi responded, "I'm gonna need it." The group headed off to their respective classes, rushing so that they wouldn't be tardy.

"Alright, today we will be playing dodgeball. The rules are simple: get hit by a ball from the opposing team and you're out. Somebody catches a ball, the person that threw it is out and you get to bring a player that is out back into the game. Remember the five D's of dodgeball: dodge, dip, dive, duck, and…dodge," Jim proclaimed, unnecessarily explaining the rules of the game, "I have already determined the two team captains. They will be Ulrich and Odd. A coin flip will determine who picks first."

Jim pulled out a quarter while Ulrich and Odd walked towards him. "Call it in the air."

Jim flipped the coin and Odd said, "Heads." Jim caught the coin and slapped it onto his wrist. He lifted his hand and showed it to the two team captains. Ulrich immediately groaned while Odd yelled, "Yes! Damon, you're on my team."

Damon walked over to Odd's side of the gym. Ulrich said, "Erethyr, you're with me." Damon's heart skipped a beat; he was actually going to have to go up against his girlfriend.

"This is going to get difficult," Damon muttered.

"I guess you're over here, Nicolas," Odd groaned. He had been hoping to get Erethyr on his team too.

Aelita was kind of put off that she hadn't been chosen by Odd when Ulrich grinned and said, "C'mon over here Aelita." She happily walked over to Ulrich's side of the gym.

The teams continued to get picked until Jeremie was the last one. The teams were already even, however, so Jim said, "Why don't you just sit this one out, we don't want one team to have more people than the other one."

"Sure, Jim. No problem," Jeremie responded and sat down on the rock climbing platform.

"Now, I want a clean game kids. Nobody starts until I blow my whistle," Jim declared as he walked over to the rock climbing platform. He blew his whistle and all hell broke loose.

Within the first five minutes, about half of the class was out. There were a few players that were excelling though. Damon and Erethyr had yet to be hit, and were actually diverting balls towards themselves so that their teams would have more ammo. Ulrich and Odd were easily taking out the most players. Aelita and Damon were also catching thrown balls occasionally to bring back in the best off the fallen teammates.

The game continued for another fifteen minutes until only Aelit, Odd, Ulrich, Damon, and Erethyr were left. "Just give up, Odd. You'll never win, we have more good players," Ulrich shouted.

"Never," Odd shouted back, dodging a ball thrown by Aelita, "I've got the best dodger here. Even Erethyr has been hit a couple of times"

To emphasize his point Damon gracefully dodged the next three balls that were thrown at him. He even added insult to grace by holding his arms out to the side and making a circle while a ball passed right through the middle of it. Odd laughed at Damon's antics and immediately got hit in the chest by a ball thrown by Aelita.

"Crud," was the only thing that Damon could say as he started a new intense wave of dodging. He even went so far as to make it look like a dance, getting many oohs and ahs from the crowd of students, Odd included. He then turned the tide of battle by catching a ball thrown by Ulrich and then throwing it in turn hitting Aelita in the butt. His throw had enough force behind it to make her move forward about six inches before crumpling on the ground.

"Sorry about that," Damon yelled dodging a ball thrown by Erethyr as Odd came back in. Ulrich helped Aelita back up and had her lean on him all the way to the rock climbing platform.

Odd and Damon looked at each other and nodded as they each picked up a ball. Odd moved behind Damon and stayed there, even moving with him as he was dodging Erethyr's shots. Damon threw his ball at Erethyr and immediately bent over, allowing Odd a clear shot. "Peek-a-boo," Odd yelled as he threw his ball. Erethyr narrowly dodged both balls, even making it look like she was in the Matrix.

"Crap, that move worked in Dodgeball," Odd groaned as he got hit in the head by Erethyr's projectile. The entire class winced as Odd spun, his face looking comical, before he fell to the ground. Damon picked him up and put him on the rock climbing platform with everyone else, all the while dodging everything that was thrown his way-that didn't stop Odd from getting hit in the nuts, however. He got out of his daze just long enough to grab himself and groan.

Damon returned to the middle of the gym and had a classic western standoff against Erethyr. Neither one moved a muscle for about two minutes. Then, as if by some common understanding, they both moved into motion. Erethyr ran and scooped up two balls and threw them at Damon. Damon dived around them, spinning, as he grabbed a ball of his own. While in his spinning dive, he threw his ball, narrowly missing hitting Erethyr in the chest. When he hit the ground with his right arm, he quickly turned it into a cartwheel, dodging another shot from Erethyr.

"Show offs," Sissi muttered, crossing her arms in disdain.

"Shh, this is getting good," both Ulrich and Odd hissed at her, watching intently.

After their flurry of motion, they just stood there, looking at each other and panting. Erethyr only had one ball on her side of the court and Damon had landed right next to five balls. Neither one dared to think that this was over yet. They both knew that it wasn't winner couldn't be decided until one of them got out. The entire class had held their breath through that entire exchange. It had looked like something right out of a John Woo movie, except with dodgeballs instead of bullets.

"One last move," Erethyr stated.

"That is all that it takes," Damon declared. He bent over to pick up one ball in his right hand. Erethyr just grinned and walked over to the only ball on her side of the court. Erethyr knew that she had to close in so that she could hit him. If she was more than five feet away, he could dodge her projectile with ease. He also knew that he had to get close, but if he got too close he wouldn't have very much time to dodge her shot.

Erethyr, after a long pause, decided to rush in for one last attack. When she got within five feet she threw her ball. Damon had already seen this one coming and had started a double front flip as she threw her ball. Damon watched it pass under him, as though it was going in slow-motion. Damon gripped the ball with his other hand as he ended the first part of his double front flip. When he was at the apex of his maneuver he had his ball held behind his head with both hands and threw it with all of his strength. The ball hit her in the chest full force as he landed his flip. Her feet actually left the ground from the force of his throw. She flew about four feet before landing limply.

Ulrich, Odd, Aelita, Jeremie, and even Jim all scribbled numbers down on pieces of paper and held them up as the class cheered. Odd's paper said '10.' Ulrich's said '9.6.' Aelita's said '8.4' as she was also rubbing her ass. She knew how much his throws hurt, and Erethyr had flown farther than she had. Jeremie's said '9.2.' And Jim's said '9.4.' Damon didn't notice though. He was already running towards her, cursing himself for using so much strength.

Erethyr's eyes werent't open when he got over there. "Erethyr, are you alright. Erethyr. Erethyr, please say something," Damon was pleading, shaking her gently. Jim decided to walk over there. The rest of the class was whispering about what had just happened.

Jim said, "Why don't you take her to the infirmary. She took quite a hit."

"Thanks, Jim. You don't know how much this means to me," Damon said gratefully.

"Oh, I think that I have an idea," Jim said as Damon gently picked Erethyr up and rushed her over to the infirmary.

When he got there, Nurse Yolanda asked him what had happened. Damon proceeded to explain exactly what had happened in that final bout in the gym. Yolanda nodded her head and said, "Why don't you just put her on the bed and wait outside. I call for you when I'm done."

"Thank you," Damon said and went outside to sit in the chair just outside of her door until she got through in there.

"Let's see just how much damage was caused," Nurse Yolanda said to herself as she took off Erethyr's shirt, revealing her black bra. She saw a big red circle on Erethyr's chest and whistled. She checked to see just how extensive the damage was before putting Erethyr's shirt back on her. "Who knew that he had that much strength in him," she muttered as she called Damon back in.

"So how bad is it," Damon inquired, pleadingly.

"Nothing too serious, you managed to bruise her sternum," she said, Damon's face fell at this news, "Don't worry though. You managed to knock her out, but she is otherwise fine. She should be up and around in a few hours. I'll tell her teachers that she won't be able to make it in to class today. Now, why don't you just head back down to gym. They're probably worried down there."

"Alright, I will. Thanks," Damon grimaced and trudged back to the gym.

When he got there his friends asked him what happened. "I hit her with enough force to knock her out. Nurse Yolanda says that she should be up and around in a few hours," Damon responded.

"Damn!! You had to hit her pretty damn hard to knock her out," Ulrich stated, kind of awestruck by Damon's words.

"Well, she did go flying a few feet," Aelita added-rubbing her ass again-realizing just how easy she had got it, "I do have to tell you, though. You throw pretty fucking hard!"

"Sorry, I got caught in the moment," Damon apologized, "That's how Erethyr got hurt so bad." He hung his head in shame.

"But you made it look so cool. Just like something out of a John Woo movie," Odd commented.

"Yeah," Ulrich added, "After seeing that I can actually hold my head up high after losing." Those words coming from him held a lot more weight to them then they would have if they had come from anybody else.

"Guys, he's probably heard enough," Jeremie stated, taking a good look at Damon's face and seeing tears streaming down his face.

"Thanks, Jer," Damon muttered.

"Do you want us to leave you alone for a little bit," Aelita asked concernedly.

"Yeah, maybe for a little while," Damon admitted weakly.

"Alright, come talk to us when you're ready," Ulrich stated, letting Damon wallow in his own misery over what he had done to the girl that he loved.

At lunch, the group was getting concerned for their friends. Damon hadn't said a word since he had knocked Erethyr out while she had yet to get out of the infirmary. Yumi had asked Aelita what had happened and she described the dodgeball game in gym to her. Yumi gasped and looked at Damon, who promptly gave his tray to Odd and walked out of the cafeteria to walk to his next class.

"He didn't even touch his food," Odd declared, "Now I'm getting seriously worried about him."

"He's probably beating himself up really hard about this," Yumi said and didn't even notice that Erethyr had managed to get into the cafeteria, get her food, and sit down at the table.

"Yeah, he did hit me pretty damn hard," Erethyr declared, making the entire group jump out of their seats. She laughed about this, then she thought better of it rubbing where Damon had hit her.

"Did you see Damon on your way here," Aelita asked, still sounding surprised that Erethyr had snuck up on them so well.

"Yeah, he was just entering history class when I got out of the infirmary," Erethyr responded.

"And he didn't even notice you," Ulrich said incredulously.

"He seemed pretty oblivious to the world," Erethyr stated.

"Maybe if he wasn't such a baby about things, he wouldn't be crying about this," a familiar voice jeered.

"Fuck, not her of all people," Ulrich groaned.

Erethyr abruptly stood up, knocking her seat to the ground. "What did you just call him," Erethyr asked venomously.

"I called him a big fat crybaby," Sissi responded, daring her to come at her. She was immediately rewarded with a quick punch to the gut, making her double over in pain and surprise. Nobody had seen her close the six foot distance in between them or throw the punch.

"Take it back," Erethyr threatened.

"Calm down," Yumi proclaimed, trying to get Erethyr to settle down.

"Stay out of this," Erethyr shouted, turning around to glare at Yumi. Yumi was taken aback by the ferocity in her eyes. Jim walked up at that moment.

"What is the meaning of this," he asked, trying to break up this fight.

"She insulted Damon for beating himself up about what happened during gym," Erethyr stated coldly.

"Elizabeth is this true," Jim asked as she recovered from being hit.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sissi lied through her teeth, "She just hit me for no reason."

"You lying bitch," Erethyr shouted, taking another swing at Sissi. Jim got in between them and grabbed Erethyr by her shirt.

"Did any of you see what happened," Jim asked Erethyr's friends.

"Yeah," Ulrich responded, "Sissi insulted Damon, so Erethyr asked her what she said. She repeated it, adding more to the insult and Erethyr lunged at her. She told her to take it back. Yumi tried to get her to calm down, but she was just too pissed to listen. Then you showed up."

"Is this true," Jim asked.

"Yep," Odd agreed.

"Sure is," Aelita assented.

"Sissi did start it," Jeremie stated. Yumi just nodded, still put back by the look that Erethyr had given her.

"Both of you are coming with me to the principal's office this minute," Jim proclaimed, dragging both Sissi and Erethyr with him.

"This cannot end well," Ulrich declared.

"Think of it this way," Odd said between mouthfuls of food, "At least Sissi's going to get into just as much trouble for provoking Erethyr."

"I wonder how Damon's going to take this," Aelita thought out loud.

"I'll tell him," Jeremie stated.

"No, you have a tendency to drop bombshells, Einstein," Odd responded.

"I'll tell him," Yumi declared, "It's on the way to my science class anyway."

"Alright, we all appreciate it Yumi," Ulrich stated, speaking for the entire group.

"Wish me luck," Yumi said as she headed out the door.

About ten minutes later, Yumi had not only found Damon just sitting in an otherwise empty classroom but also told him what had happened right after he left the cafeteria.

"She did WHAT," Damon shouted, outraged at both Sissi and Erethyr. At the same time he was relieved that Erethyr was indeed alright.

"You heard me. Erethyr got in trouble defending you from Sissi," Yumi responded, "But Sissi should be getting into just as much trouble for provoking her though. At least that's some good news."

"Thanks for telling me this Yumi. I really was in a deep melancholy over gym this morning," Damon stated.

"What are you going to do now," Yumi asked hesitantly.

"Anything that I do to Sissi or Erethyr at this point would be superfluous," Damon stated.

"That," Yumi commented, "and you'd get into another three weeks of detention for being so merciless towards Sissi again."

"That too," Damon responded, "The only thing that I'm going to do is apologize to Erethyr for hitting her so hard and hope that she will forgive me."

"I'm sure she will," Yumi declared, "She knows how you can get sometimes."

"Yeah, well I'd just feel better if I apologized to her," Damon proclaimed.

"You do that," Yumi said, "As for me, I've got to go to my science class. See you after classes."

"See you there," Damon stated cheerfully. Yumi walked out of the classroom, but Damon just sat there and waited for class to start in about five more minutes.

Damon apologized to Erethyr the first chance that he got and found out how she and Sissi were getting punished. They had both gotten a month of detention for the fight. Jeremie's laptop started beeping, revealing that a tower had just activated in the mountain region. Erethyr, Aelita, and Ulrich all said that they had to go to the infirmary while their friends offered to help them get there safely. Instead of heading to the infirmary they bolted towards the factory. Ulrich called Yumi but she said that she couldn't get out of class this time, so they went on without her.

At the factory, Jeremie quickly virtualized everybody. When they reached Lyoko, they were caught completely off guard by what they saw. XANA was actually fighting against all of these monsters. He was even defending himself against William with his bow.

"As much as I love seeing those two duke it out," Damon said, "It looks like XANA could use our help."

"No way," Ulrich proclaimed, "This has to be a trap."

"And what if it's not," Damon argued, "Then if XANA loses, we'll never find out what the fucks going on here." Ulrich had to bend to Damon's logic.

"I'm not going to like this," Ulrich stated.

"I'm not asking you to," Damon declared, "All I'm saying is that the enemy of our enemy is our friend."

"But what if he is also your enemy," Odd joked.

Damon laughed a little bit and said, "Then you're fucked." This got some laughs as the five warriors joined the fray. Ulrich, Odd, Erethyr, and Aelita all took on the monsters while Damon helped XANA out.

"About time you got here," XANA stated impatiently, "I don't know how much longer I could have held out."

"We may not trust you, but even we can realize when something is up and you're not the cause of it," Damon declared as he hit William's sword, almost disarming him.

"After this, I'll tell you what is going on here," XANA promised as he fired a shot at William's sword, knocking it from his grasp.

"I'll keep you to that," Damon proclaimed as he hit William in the head, making visible ripples in the air from where he hit.

William was staggered for long enough for XANA to shoot him in the chest with his one of his red arrows, instantly making him explode exactly as he had been of late. Damon and XANA took one look at each other and nodded as they helped the others with their battles. It was over in a matter of minutes.

They all turned to XANA, but only Damon wasn't looking as though he wanted a piece of XANA. "Guys he told me that he would reveal what was going on. Let's at least here him out first," Damon stated. His friends uneasily put away their weapons.

XANA gave his bow to Damon and said, "To emphasize my point." Everyone was surprised about this, but took it as a sign that XANA meant business.

"Okay, what's the deal," Ulrich asked.

"I am not your real enemy anymore," XANA stated, getting looks of disbelief from everyone present, "I know that I have tried to kill you in the past, but after the Core of Lyoko was destroyed, my programming was cleaned. I no longer had the desire to kill any of you. But the one that took control of William does. Her name is SAI. Like I was created by Franz Hopper and Erethyr was created by Artemis Lerath, SAI was created by Gina Aurum." The group gasped at this.

"Why should we believe you," Aelita stated.

"Because it is the truth," XANA stated matter-of-factly.

"Tell us this," Damon stated, "Does SAI have long silver hair and black eyes that seem to draw you in?"

XANA was taken aback by Damon's comment. He had never told them what she looked like so he said, "Yes, she does. But how did you know that?"

"It's a little human thing called a dream, or more precisely a nightmare. I believe him guys. It was the biggest missing piece to my nightmare," Damon declared.

"What do you mean," Odd asked, in disbelief.

"The three streams of data that came from a single point making three orbs. That had to be Hopper, Gramps, and Aurum coming from Project Carthage and making XANA, Erethyr, and SAI. SAI is the silver orb that is trying to hurt. Erethyr is the green orb that is trying to help. So that means that XANA is the red orb that is trying to inform," Damon explained.

"When you think about it that way," Erethyr stated, "It does make sense. All of it does. But I'm just wondering two things: one, why did you kidnap Damon about two months ago; and two, what the fuck happened here."

XANA started to explain himself, "As to the answer of your first question the answer is simple. I took Damon because I was trying to get to you so that I could get some assistance. When I couldn't get you I gave Damon his Lyoko form and set the seeds that would allow me to get the help that I needed. As for the answer to your second question, I was getting over-whelmed trying to beat all of these minions of SAI. I remembered that every time I activated a tower, all of you would come running. So, I activated that tower and hoped that you would answer my call for…help."

"But weren't you getting more powerful from each return to the past," Jeremie asked from his keyboard.

"Yes, I was. But once the Core of Lyoko was destroyed, SAI was awakened and most of my power was drained, forcing me to coalesce into this human form here on Lyoko," XANA responded.

"I don't know," Ulrich stated, "I still don't trust you."

"After how many times I attempted to kill you, I don't expect you to trust me. But I am willing to try to earn your trust," XANA responded.

"That is going to take more time than you think," Odd stated.

"I trust you," Damon declared, shocking everybody, even XANA.

"Why? How? WHAT," Erethyr shouted.

"If I were in his shoes I would have done the exact same thing," Damon stated simply, "And it takes a lot of courage to ask those that you have tried to killed or wronged numerous times in the past for help. I trust him." To emphasize his point he handed XANA back his bow, shocking everyone further.

"What are you doing," Aelita yelled.

"I know that you can be pretty insightful sometimes, but this is just plain crazy," Ulrich proclaimed.

"I think that I speak for all of us when I say that I agree with Ulrich," Odd declared, getting nods from everyone.

"Guys, the tower was just deactivated," Jeremie said.

"Yes, I deactivated it. There was no need for it to be activated any longer than it already had been," XANA stated simply.

"I still don't trust you," Aelita said coldly.

"And I don't expect you to, for I have committed the most wrongs against you," XANA stated, "But realize, I would not have come forth and given you all of this information if I thought that there wasn't a slim chance that amends could be made."

"Let us think it over for a while, then we'll get back to you," Jeremie stated.

"I will be waiting here on Lyoko until you return," XANA declared, bowing.

Jeremie materialized all of his friends and they quickly made their way back to school. After their classes they told Yumi what had happened and she was just as distrustful as the rest of the group, save for Damon, were.

"I don't know, he just can't be trusted," Yumi stated.

"Well either way, we aren't going to just welcome him with open arms," Erethyr declared.

"I know this," Damon said, "But I also know that he is honestly at wits end and needs our help."

"Maybe, but we still don't trust him," Aelita said for everybody.

"He will have access to many things already, so if things actually end up obviously changing in our favor, that could be his way of trying to make amends," Erethyr stated.

"We'll just have to wait and see if he can be trusted," Jeremie said.

"Agreed," Yumi nodded.

With that said the group of friends talked about other things before heading home to rest and think over everything that had happened this day.


	11. Surprises

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. My new and improved army of robotic monkeys are trying to fix that though.

A/N: YAY!! Chapter 11 is here, and I got two reviews. Keep them coming guys! This is the beginning of the third set of chapters, but it is indeed very interesting. I even decide to play with Damon's hydrophobia again. There will be a couple of surprises at the end of the chapter, but not before Damon finally gets his first line in the entire chapter. Please R&R, or I will be forced to smear dead fish all over you until you do. Very unpleseant for both of us...

* * *

It was a rainy day in France. All over the country there were thick thunderclouds hanging aver the air. Kadic Academy and the surrounding town were no exception. Yumi had walked to school by herself because Damon parents had called him in sick Yumi didn't believe for a second that he was actually sick, but she could think of no other reason why he wouldn't be at school today. She got to the school gates quickly, but it just felt like it took longer than usual. 

"Hey, Yumi. What's up," Erethyr asked cheerfully.

"Why is she so chipper this early in the morning," Yumi muttered to Odd.

"This is her first time experiencing rain," Odd responded simply.

"That would explain it," Yumi declared, "I had forgotten that it hadn't rained since we materialized her."

"Just imagine what she'll be doing when she sees lightning or hears thunder," Ulrich added, jumping into the conversation.

"Or when it starts snowing," Odd stated. Yumi and Ulrich both laughed at this while everyone else just looked at them like they had just gone crazy.

"I don't think that I want to know what they're talking about," Aelita said.

"What could they be laughing about," Jeremie wondered.

"Why does this feel so much better than taking a shower," Erethyr asked in wonderment. At this the entire group started laughing. "What, it does…" she muttered, bringing forth even more laughter.

"Why didn't Damon come with you today," Ulrich asked Yumi.

"I went by his house and his parents said that they 'called him in sick,'" Yumi answered, emphasizing this last part.

"Why could that be," Aelita asked.

"Probably because of his hydrophobia," Odd stated.

"Oh yeah," Erethyr said, "I had forgotten about that completely." She rubbed the back of her head and blushed with mild embarrassment.

"I think that we all did," Jeremie stated, "Now come on, let's get out of this rain." The six friends jogged into the science building to get out of the rain.

"Okay, now I'm cold," Erethyr stated, wrapping her arms around herself and shivering.

"Well, of course you're cold. You just came into an air conditioned building from the rain," Odd stated, "The only way you wouldn't be cold is if you were a penguin." Odd waddled like a penguin to emphasize his point, getting a few laughs.

"Let's hope that you don't catch a cold," Yumi said.

"Yeah, because you'd give it to me, since I'm your roommate." Aelita added, getting a few giggles.

"Well, I better be getting to class," Yumi declared heading back into the rain and running to her history class.

"Yeah, that actually sounds like a good idea," Jeremie said, and they all went to Miss Hertz's class.

When the class actually started the first thing that Miss Hertz said was, "Alright, class. We're going to have a new student today. Principal Delmas should be bringing him in any moment now."

Almost as if on cue, Principal Delmas came in. A boy with spiky red hair, blue eyes, a necklace with a pewter skull pendant on it, a black long-sleeved shirt that reached almost to his knees with a fire design coming from the cuffs and the tail of it, baggy black cargo pants, and black Vans with a fire design coming from the sole. "We have a new student for you today," Principal Delmas proclaimed, everyone was rolling their eyes because Miss Hertz had already told them this, "Please introduce yourself to your fellow classmates."

"Hello, my name is Xavier Naples. I'm pleased to meet every one of you," he said, scanning the room. His eyes hovered over the Lyoko group the longest, however. The only person in the room that noticed this was Erethyr, but she decided that it was probably nothing.

"Please take a seat, Xavier," Miss Hertz commanded and he took a seat at the back of the classroom nearby Jeremie and Aelita, "Thank you, Principal Delmas. Before you leave, could you tell me why Damon isn't here today?"

He isn't here today because his parents 'called him in sick,'" Principal Delmas stated with only the subtlest of emphasis on the end of the sentence. After that being said, Principal Delmas left to go to his office.

"Alright class, today we're going to start studying micro-biology. Take out your textbooks and turn to page one hundred and sixty-seven," Miss Hertz proclaimed. Odd immediately slumped over on his textbook, sound asleep and snoring softly-much to Miss Hertz's dismay.

Lunch soon came, and the group sat in their usual seats. Xavier took a seat at an adjacent table on the side closest to Jeremie. "Man, it's still coming down hard," Odd said, indicating the rain.

"Yeah," Erethyr added, "I just hope that Damon's all right."

"Oh, is he afraid of a little water," a familiar voice said snidely.

"Sissi," Ulrich declared, "I see that you only have enough gall to come over here when Damon's not around. Now I wonder why that could be."

"Maybe it's because without him around she's not making her water park," Odd proclaimed, getting a round of laughter from everybody nearby except for the target of this remark.

"Very funny, Odd. Or should I say 'Sir Snores-a-lot,'" Sissi replied.

"Yeah it was, wasn't it," Odd responded, posing to look more like a knight. This got even more laughter.

"Odd," Yumi declared, "Between your ego and your stomach, it's no small wonder that you can get anything done."

"Yeah, that was a good comeback Sissi," Ulrich stated, "Now why don't you go on the other side of the cafeteria and come up with another one. It should only take you about another month or two." This brought even more laughter.

"No need to be so coy with me, Ulrich dear," Sissi responded, "I know what you really think of me."

"Yeah, I think of you more like an annoying itch than a person," Ulrich retorted, causing even more laughter to occur.

"Why don't you just leave your friends and come sit by me," Sissi said coyly.

Xavier then said, "Isn't it obvious that they don't want you around-Sissi is it?" This actually startled everybody in the area, Xavier hadn't actually said anything this entire time up until that point. His voice sounded familiar to the Lyoko group, but they couldn't quite place their fingers on where they had heard it before.

"Why don't you stay out of this," Sissi challenged this new comer.

"Why don't you leave them alone like they are indicating that they want you to do," Xavier responded coolly, with an eyebrow raised.

"Are you presuming to tell me, the principal's daughter, what to do," Sissi stated.

"You may be the principal's daughter, but that does not make you the absolute authority around here," Xavier responded matter-of-factly.

"He is right," Erethyr added, "So why don't you just sit your pompous ass on the other end of the cafeteria. Or would you rather make another scene like the other day."

"You wouldn't dare," Sissi proclaimed.

"How much you wanna bet," Erethyr retorted.

"They have told you flat out to go away, and yet you insist on making a scene. Just how fucking stupid do you have to be to not get the idea," Xavier stated. Everybody that was listening in on this conversation was actually surprised at how much gall the new kid had to diss Sissi on his first day.

"This isn't over," Sissi declared, strutting off to a nearby table.

After she had gone away Aelita was the first one to talk to Xavier. "Wow, your first day here and you're already becoming a thorn in her side. That has to be a new record."

"I was just trying to help out," Xavier stated.

"Well, after that," Ulrich stated, "you're good in my book."

"That's good to know," Xavier replied.

"Why don't you hang out with us," Jeremie stated, "It's always nice to have new friends that also hate Sissi."

"What can I say," Xavier responded, "I just don't like those that think that their better than everyone around them."

"That's always a good thing," Odd stated between mouthfuls of food.

"Anyway, I have to go now," Xavier stated, standing up, "I've got some things I need to take care of. Besides, my schedule for the rest of the week just has me as a student for the first half of the day. See you later." Xavier walked out of the cafeteria and off of the school grounds.

"He seems like a nice guy," Yumi stated.

"Yeah, but I can't help but get the feeling that I've seen him somewhere before," Erethyr muttered.

"I know what you mean," Aelita commented, "Something about him seems too familiar. Maybe the hair of the voice, I just can't tell."

Jeremie's laptop started beeping so he pulled it out and took a look at what was going on. "Trouble," was the only thing that he said and the entire group got up and put away their trays before going out onto the school grounds and running to their manhole cover in the forest.

When they got down there, they each took their transportation of choice. Jeremie and Aelita were on their scooters. Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi were on their skateboards. Erethyr, on the other hand, hastily put on a pair of roller blades and caught up to the rest of the group. They weren't that far ahead of her, but it didn't take all of them very long to reach where they were going.

They came out of the sewers right next to the bridge that connected to the abandoned factory and made a beeline for the freight elevator. Jeremie stopped at the computer lab while the rest of them went to the scanner room. "I'm sending you guys to the desert sector. Conveniently, XANA's already there confronting the enemy."

"Well, he does still know what the fuck goes on in Lyoko," Yumi stated, "Damon might be right to trust him."

"How can you say that after what he has done to all of us in the past," Aelita proclaimed as though she had just been accosted.

"I don't know," Yumi tried to justify herself, "That new kid got me thinking about stuff. What's his name again?"

"His name's Xavier," Odd stated as he Ulrich and Yumi all got into scanners, "But he's nothing like XANA."

The scanner doors closed and they appeared on Lyoko, with Aelita and Erethyr appearing shortly thereafter. "I'm programming your vehicles now," Jeremie stated, "I've even got you your own Erethyr."

"SWEET!!! What is it Jeremie," Erethyr shouted.

"You'll see," Jeremie said simply as the overbike, overboard, and overwing appeared normally. A new vehicle appeared, however. This one looked like a black carpet with red trim and tassles.

"You sent me a rug, just what I've always wanted," Erethyr declared sarcastically.

"Step on it, you might just like it," Jeremie proclaimed.

"Alright, I've got nothing to lose-except my dignity," Erethyr replied before stepping onto the carpet. It rose and hovered just off the ground. She instinctively spread her legs out just like Aladdin to keep her balance. "I take it back, this is pretty nifty Jeremie."

"I made it specifically for you. As long as you're on it, it will maneuver like the overboard and fly like the overwing," Jeremie explained.

"That is actually kind of sweet, but I didn't get you anything," Erethyr quipped.

"Let's just keep our minds on the mission,: Jeremie stated, "They are due southwest of your current position. I'm going to see what kind of damage is being caused. Whether it is by XANA or SAI, I don't know nor do I care as long as they are stopped."

Jeremie worked quickly and found out what was going on. Not only was energy being built up in three separate pylons, but the thunderstorm also seemed to be gathering strength as well. "Guys, I think that there may be a problem."

"What is it Jeremie," Aelita asked.

"Whoever is behind this is gathering power in three pylons. The thunderstorm also seems to be gathering a whole lot of power," Jeremie answered.

"This could be bad," Yumi stated and everybody pushed their vehicles as fast as they would go. They arrived on the scene in a matter of seconds.

XANA had been doing his best to hold off the opposing forces, but he was quickly getting tired. There were still over sixty enemies easily, mostly tarantulas and crabs. "Finally, the cavalry has arrived," XANA proclaimed.

"Listen, we're not doing this for you," Ulrich proclaimed, "We're doing this because a lot of people could get hurt or killed." At that time William decided to show up, but he had a girl in tow. This girl had long, silver hair that reached halfway down her back; black eyes that seemed to draw you in; was wearing a silver sundress; and was barefoot. The only thing that she was carrying was a silver umbrella.

"Who the fuck is that," Erethyr shouted.

"SAI," was the only thing that escaped XANA's lips. The entire group was in shock. Could XANA of been telling them the truth, was he indeed no longer their enemy. They put such thoughts aside, preparing for battle. The entire group hopped off of their vehicles, which instantly disappeared.

"I see no need to hide any further. XANA, I see that you are still alright. But I plan on remedying that malady of yours. What is it called…Oh, yes. LIFE," SAI cooed, making everybody's hair stand on end due to the pure murderous intent that laced her voice.

"Who is the one pulling the strings here," Yumi demanded.

"Why me, of course," SAI stated. With a grand gesture every one of the monsters and even William's markings changed. Instead of XANA's symbol, there was now a single silver eye-shaped marking-simple yet intimidating. "Well, well, well…I see that every A.I. is indeed here. Have you allied yourselves with such biological scum? They are very expendable. But this one in particular," she motioned towards William, "had his uses as an enforcer. Now he is useless to me. If you can stop my attack within the next two minutes, I might just let you have him back."

"You might want to hurry. The pylons have about two minutes left before they reach full capacity," Jeremie announced urgently.

XANA was now infuriated, and attacked with newfound vigor. He fired three arrows at a time now, destroying just as many monsters every time. Odd was helping with his Laser Arrows. Yumi was destroying as many monsters as she could with her fans, despite their evading her attacks. Ulrich and Erethyr closed in and were wiping the floor with the monsters. Every time a monster exploded, it emitted a silver light instead of the red light that they were used to. William just stood there, just waiting for the right time to attack.

Within a minute, all of the monsters were destroyed and Aelita was heading towards the silver-hued tower. William chose this moment to strike. He devirtualized Aelita just before she could enter the tower. SAI just grinned and stated, "Now how do you intend stop me without her to deactivate the tower."

"I'm gonna try something," Erethyr stated, "Do you think that you guys can hold him off?"

"With pleasure," Ulrich stated. Erethyr now headed for the tower, unopposed while Ulrich staved off William.

When she entered the tower, she floated up to the second platform and stuck her hand on the screen that showed up.

* * *

ERETHYR

* * *

"Three," SAI stated.

* * *

CODE

* * *

"Two," Jeremie declared hysterically.

* * *

LYOKO

* * *

The tower now shown its normal blue instead of the insidious silver it had been. The pylons were now quickly dispersing their pent up energy, as was the thunderstorm. With one thunderous crack, a bolt of lightning hit the bridge leading to the factory and made a gigantic hole in it. 

"Bravo, with one second to spare," SAI chuckled, "Here's your William back, he's useless as a puppet now. I have other plans." With a twirl of her umbrella SAI vanished, leaving no trace of her ever being there.

Erethyr exited the tower and was quickly confronted by Ulrich, "How did you do that? I thought that Aelita was the only one that could do that."

"I can explain that one," Jeremie stated, "I saw the entire process and a hidden line of code was activated. As soon as Aelita was devirtualized, Erethyr gained the ability to deactivate towers. From that I can infer that due to sub-harmonic processing and quantum fields…"

"English please," Ulrich proclaimed, irritated at Jeremie for using scientific mumbo jumbo that he couldn't understand.

Aelita's voice came over the mic, "While my character card is refreshing Erethyr will be able deactivate towers. If my character card isn't refreshing and I can still fight on Lyoko, she can't do this. Apparently it is a back-up code for in the off chance that I get devirtualized before I can deactivate the tower."

"Why couldn't you just say that, Einstein," Odd jibed.

"Alright, so you weren't lying about SAI. And you even helped us get William back. Maybe Damon was right, you have changed," Erethyr declared.

"We may not put our lives into your hands just yet, but we will work alongside you. It is apparent that you honestly want to help us," Ulrich stated.

"Just how many monsters were there before we arrived," Yumi asked.

"I lost count after I destroyed two hundred," XANA stated flatly, getting shocked looks from the Lyoko warriors.

"So, if you hadn't helped…" Odd began.

"Your city would have been annihilated," XANA finished.

"And countless lives would have been lost," Erethyr added softly.

"So, I guess we have to thank you," Jeremie stated.

"No need. Through the eyes of others, I saw how beautiful that city could be," said XANA.

"I guess we'll see you later," Ulrich stated.

XANA beamed, he was actually gaining allies in his former foes. "Sure, I'll see you around."

The group waved to XANA as all five of them were devirtualized: Yumi, Odd, Ulrich, Erethyr, and the unconscious form of William. When they appeared in the scanner room, Aelita was waiting for them. They helped rouse the William. He had the same blue-black hair he did on Lyoko; but now he was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt over a red t-shirt, jeans, and brown laced boots.

"Uhn….What a ride…" William groaned as he woke up. Jeremie was in the computer lab getting rid of the specter of William that he had placed on Earth to replace the real William. The entire group quickly made their way back up there to see how Jeremie was coming along. William was being held up by Erethyr and Ulrich and helped over to where Jeremie was typing furiously.

"Welcome back," Jeremie stated as he finished what he was doing, "Now we just have to get you back there and into your dorm room."

"Sorry about what I did guys, I feel terrible. It was like I was there and doing everything, but I had no control over what I was doing. I was a prisoner in my own body," William apologized, "Is there any way that you could forgive me?"

"We already have," Yumi stated and everyone nodded their heads, "Just don't do anything rash like attacking the scyphozoa again. If Jeremie tells you what to do, even though he's only been to Lyoko three times now, try to follow his instructions to the best of your abilities."

"I guess I dead get a bit headstrong there," William laughed, "So, who is the new girl?"

"I'm Erethyr. And I was brought here by Damon before I got materialized. You might remember him; after all, it was thanks to you that he fell under XANA's control for that brief time period."

"Sorry about that, so that's what his name was; but as I told you, I had no control over my actions. I would like to make up for what happened, however," William pleaded.

"You already did by revealing Erethyr's latent secondary power," Aelita stated.

"What was that," William asked.

"If I ever get devirtualized, she can deactivate towers in my stead," Aelita explained.

"Alright, that's pretty cool. So, where's Damon? I'd also like to apologize to him," William declared.

"Why don't we go over to his place," Odd stated.

"Because we have to get back to school before anybody notices that we've been gone," Yumi declared.

"You just want more of Mrs. Lerath's cooking," Ulrich declared.

"I can't help it. My mind's in my stomach," Odd groaned.

"Your mind is your stomach, you purple pig with sweaty palms," Erethyr jibed; the entire group laughed at this as they made their way back to school. They just barely made it in time to make their classes

After school, they were going to Damon's house when they ran into Xavier.

"Hey, Xavier. What are you doing here," Erethyr asked, still disconcerted with how familiar he looked.

"I'm just walking around town. How about you guys, and who is that with you," Xavier asked indicating William.

"This is our friend William. William, this is Xavier," Yumi introduced the two to each other.

"Pleased to meet you," William stated, shaking his hand, "We're going over to Damon's. Want to come with?"

"Sure, I kinda want to meet the infamous Damon Lerath. I want to ffind out about this dodgeball game that took place recently," Xavier stated simply as he joined the group on there way to Damon's place. On the way, they explained what had about the dodgeball game in greater detail to Yumi, William, and Xavier.

When they got there Xavier said, "Man, he sounds like a badass."

"Yeah, I'd hate to get in a fight with him if he can do that much damage with a dodgeball," William declared. They knocked on the door and Mr. Lerath let them in and showed them to Damon's room.

"Be careful, he's been sulking all day long," Mr. Lerath warned them as he knocked on the door to Damon's room, "Damon, you've got guests," he called through the door before walked off.

They entered and the first thing that Damon said before he turned around was "I fucking hate the god damn rain!"

When he turned around he saw Xavier and his eyes widened with recognition. Xavier just nodded and Damon's face returned to normal. "Why do you hate the rain," William asked.

"Acute hydrophobia," Damon stated simply, explaining everything with just those two words.

"So, somebody as awesome as you at dodgeball is deathly afraid of a little water. I guess that nature has a funny way of evening out the playing field," William stated.

"So, what happened today? I heard on the news that some pylons were gathering a lot of power and the thunderstorm was worsening, but then all of a sudden the pylon's energy started dispersing. I heard the thunder though, that must have been one wicked lightning bolt," Damon commented.

"SAI attacked, she was pure evil. At least she gave back William for defeating her so expeditiously. She was going to wipe out the entire town, but instead only made a huge hole in the bridge," Erethyr responded before rushing into Damon's arms and kissing him on the cheek.

"So, who's your new friend," Damon asked, indicating Xavier even though he already knew his identity.

"His name's Xavier. He really helped us out in getting Sissi to go away without getting anybody into trouble," Ulrich explained.

Xavier's next comment shocked everybody in the room except for Damon. He just stated, "But all of know me better as XANA."


	12. Trust Issues

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. Who knew that robotic monkeys could be destroyed by a little rain.

A/N: Yay! I got another review! In this one I was told that Xavier Naples being XANA was a little bit too predictable. That may be true, but what can I say, I needed XANA in the real world. From now on I'll be calling him Xavier, so that my vernacular doesn't get all fucked up to hell. Anyway, this chapter is pretty much part two of the previous chapter, the next one could be called part three. I know some of you hate multi-parters, but I just type this stuff as I come up with it. This means that this ended up being a three-parter. Please R&R, or I will read the works of Ped Xing to you.

* * *

"What do you mean 'You know me better as XANA.' We would know if you had activated Code: Earth, wouldn't we? Jeremie," Yumi protested. 

"Code: Earth doesn't activate any towers, so it is possible to slip under our radar," Jeremie answered.

"Don't worry, on my way out I took Code: Earth off of the super computer. Now if SAI tries to send her monsters to our world, we'll know about it," Xavier explained.

"Why should we trust you," Ulrich demanded.

"Because I already proved myself before you found out my true identity. You were even calling me friend up until about thirty seconds ago," Xavier stated.

"Listen guys, I trust him. If he steps out of line, take it out on me too. In my eyes he has already proven himself," Damon declared.

"Damon…" Erethyr said.

"I mean it. He's your guys' friend until all of a sudden he reveals himself as XANA. Are you all that hypocritical? You accept somebody until you find out something about them that you don't like. Shame on all of you," Damon berated his friends.

"I know that he is no longer the true enemy, so I trust him too," William added, "Sure he may have done some bad things in the past, but he came to you asking for assistance. I for one will freely help him."

"Why are you so willing to help him out," Aelita demanded.

"Remember, I was under the control of SAI for the past three months. I can vaguely remember some details of what she told me…like, for instance, that she wanted XANA and Erethyr destroyed. They are the only ones that could possibly oppose her. If SAI wants him gone that badly, then I for one don't want him to be destroyed," William explained.

Now it was Erethyr's turn to speak up, "Is this true, Xavier?"

"Yes, but you are too busy living in the past to look at what could happen in the future," Xavier proclaimed, "Sure, I'm XANA. Sure, I've tried to kill all of you in the past. Sure, it is thanks to me that Aelita's father is lost. But I want to fix all that I've done. I will even put myself at risk to find Franz Hopper if that's what it takes to earn your trust. I even helped you get William back. I destroyed a vast majority of those monsters that way the path would be a lot clearer."

"Sounds to me like you are willing to put yourself in the line of fire to help us out," Damon stated.

"Exactly, why can't the rest of you understand that," Xavier proclaimed hysterically.

"Because they have never almost died for the sake of others," Damon said simply. This shocked all of their friends. William and Xavier walked towards Damon and he nodded his head. They turned around looking at those that were opposed to the idea that XANA could possibly have changed.

"What do you mean," Odd inquired.

"What I mean is that none of you have truly come anywhere as close to death as I have. It really clears your head as to how things really work. How do you think that I became so insightful," Damon explained.

"I don't know…could it be true," Erethyr asked.

"Look even William, who was originally taken over by XANA, is willing to trust him. That should speak tomes to all of you," Damon declared.

"Yeah, it seems to me that he actually wants to help out," William stated.

"If you are so dead set on it, then I'll learn to trust XANA as well," Erethyr stated, waling over to the other side of the room with Xavier, Damon, and William.

"That is a convincing argument," Odd admitted, "Even Damon has been taken over by XANA, and he will trust him. Then so will I." He also walked over to the other side of the room.

"Facts don't lie," Jeremie declared much to Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita's surprise, "Everything that has been said so far has been true. Maybe people can change." Jeremie also trudged over to the majority of the group.

"I still don't trust you, but even though you have tried to kill me multiple times," Yumi stated, "I think that I might be able to start." Her features softened as she walked over to them.

"If Yumi trusts him, then so will I. Realize, however, tha it will take you a long time to receive my full respect," Ulrich declared.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Xavier stated.

"So Aelita, are you willing to join the bandwagon," Erethyr inquired.

"He permanently virtualized my father; why should I," Aelita demanded.

"Because there are only two places in the entire net that are secure enough to hold him. I am more than willing to guide you to them, if you would let me," Xavier proclaimed, bowing before Aelita, as if to swear fealty to her.

Aelita was torn between wanting her father back and her instinctive hatred of XANA. She couldn't help but remember what had happened when she first got to Lyoko. She also remembered how XANA had been helpful to them lately. "I just don't know," was the only thing that she could escape her lips.

"You don't have to decide now Aelita," Xavier said, surprising everybody in the room, "I know that I have wronged you the most. I understand if you aren't willing to trust me fully; I will still help you find your father, regardless of what you think about me. I just want to help out the best that I can."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Aelita said.

"Well, now that that is out of the way," Damon clapped his hands, "I have a day's worth of homework to catch up on. Just give me my assignments for the day and I'll do them."

"Yeah," William added, "And I have three months of school to catch up on. Yumi, do you think that you could help me, maybe over dinner."

"I'll help you, William; but not over dinner," Yumi said flatly.

"Can't blame a guy for trying," William commented.

"Actually, yes you can," Erethyr stated. This got laughs from everybody and relieving the stress that had been building up moments before. "Here's your homework Damon, hopefully you'll be back tomorrow. We've got archery lessons in gym first thing in the morning."

"If the rain lets up, I'll be there," Damon said, smiling. The group filed out, leaving Damon to do his work. The group made their way to the school, Yumi telling William what he'd missed in class all the time that he was gone. By the time that night fell, the rain had let up and the clouds had dissipated.

Aelita and Erethyr were in their room, talking. "I just can't really trust him. He was right he has done horrible things in the past, and that's why I can't trust him," Aelita stated.

"I know," Erethyr argued, "But he is trying to make amends. What he said to you alone improved my opinion of him."

"That may be true, but I just can't trust him. It's thanks to him and the government that I spent ten years on Lyoko, isolated from the rest of the world," Aelita declared.

"But it is also thanks to him that you met the rest of us," Erethyr countered. Aelita gasped, she hadn't thought about that. It was thanks to him that she had both experienced her greatest loss and her greatest joy. She put on a look of thorough confusion.

"C'mon, let's hit the showers and get ready for bed. It might help you clear your mind," Erethyr offered. Aelita nodded her head and they headed off to take a shower in the girl's part of the dormitory. There wasn't a line, so they finished quickly and headed back to their room. Aelita was sporting her pink night-shirt and Erethyr was wearing a red t-shirt and black pajama bottoms. They made their way to bed and quickly fell asleep.

William was trying to sort out everything that Yumi had told him and before he could, he had fallen fast asleep. Odd and Ulrich were also falling asleep, but not before talking about what had happened. "So, what do you think about Xavier," Ulrich inquired.

"I think that he is honestly just trying to help us out now. He knows that we don't have a chance of beating SAI alone," Odd responded.

"But there are now eight of us, excluding Xavier," Ulrich countered.

"Couldn't you tell that she was toying with us earlier," Odd retorted.

"What do you mean," Ulrich inquired.

"She could have fought us herself, but she chose not to. She could have devirtualized Erethyr, or even had William do it, but she didn't. Didn't you notice that William didn't move until Aelita headed for the tower," Odd declared.

"That is weird," Ulrich admitted, "But why didn't she?"

"I don't know, maybe it was my devilish good looks," Odd replied, getting a chuckle out of Ulrich.

"Somehow, I doubt that Odd. Let's just get to bed, we've got gym first thing in the morning," Ulrich replied. Ulrich quickly fell asleep, but Odd stayed up for most of the night. He just had to beat the next level of Galactic Invaders before he fell asleep.

Jeremie was on his computer, trying to find out where the next orb could possibly be. He continued to work for the most of the night, passing out after initiating one last scan. In the morning, he woke up and looked at the results of the scan. "YES!!! I've got to tell them what I just found. Where would be the best place…the school gates," Jeremie exclaimed before getting ready for a new day and heading down to the school gates.

When he got there Ulrich, Odd, Aelita, Erethyr, and William were all waiting. Just then Yumi, Damon, and Xavier showed up. "An army of hippies," Yumi laughed, "What are you going to think of next."

"Probably something crazy like rabid dust bunnies," Xavier joked, getting Yumi to almost fall over laughing, "Okay, sheesh. It wasn't that funny."

"Good news," Jeremie stated.

"What is it," Damon asked.

"I just found one of the other orbs," Jeremie exclaimed.

"Awesome," Damon proclaimed.

"That's great to hear, Jeremie," Ulrich declared.

"So when are we going to the net," Odd inquired.

"What are these orbs that you are talking about," William asked.

Xavier explained, "They are three little balls of different colors that hold the keys to unlocking great things within Lyoko."

"I didn't know this," Jeremie stated and everybody turned towards Xavier.

"What, SAI and I created our own orbs about five years back. I don't know about the final orb though," Xavier explained.

"What did you say," Aelita inquired.

"Before SAI grew power hungry, she and I could have been classified as friends. She grew jealous when I found a way to get stronger and started trying to undermine me. Recently she almost killed me, but she took my power and my armies as her prize instead of my head," Xavier explained.

"So then how did you materialize yourself," Yumi asked.

"You know as well I do that I have been able to materialize things since not too long before you finished your materialization program," Xavier explained.

"Oh, yeah. I had forgotten about the evil me," Yumi muttered.

"Which orb is it Jeremie," Xavier inquired.

"It's the red orb," Jeremie stated, taken aback by his question.

"Shit! This is going to be really dangerous," Xavier stated.

"Why," Odd asked, "It's not like its yours or anything, is it?" The look on Xavier's face confirmed that it was indeed his orb.

"That means that you will know how to get to it unscathed, right," Aelita asked.

"…No, it is impossible to get to it unharmed," Xavier stated

"Why is it impossible," Ulrich asked.

"I made a labyrinthine maze to get to it. The correct path to get to it is laced with so many traps that you are going to get hit by most of them. Not to mention that I put the orb within the guardian," Xavier explained.

"Can you stop the guardian," Damon asked.

"If SAI hadn't taken my power and armies, then yes; but since she did, then no," Xavier stated.

"What is it," Erethyr asked.

"It has four forms, each contained within the previous one. The first form is a dragon. If that gets beaten, it will turn into a horned serpent. Once that one is beaten, it will become a minotaur. After that, it will turn into an armored human with two swords that resemble the horns of the previous forms. The orb is the heart of the knight. I designed it so that it would be impossible to defeat, that way while all of your character cards were refreshing I would be free to attack the Earth. If I know SAI like I think I do, she'll do the exact same thing," Xavier explained.

"That is sinister. Why would you do such a thing?" William demanded.

"I was evil at the time, what can I say. I'm telling you guys what we're going to be up against so that we might be able to formulate a battle plan to defeat it," Xavier stated.

"Any weak points," Odd asked hopefully, Xavier just shook his head. The entire group was in a deep funk until the bell rang.

"Why don't we take this on after school today," Jeremie stated.

"Sounds good," Damon replied. They made their way to their respective classes, trying to figure out how they would take on the guardian of Xavier's orb.

"Class," Jim declared, "Today, I will be teaching you the noble art of archery. Note the bows and arrows at your feet and the targets on the other side of the gym. Now you hold your bow like this. You notch your arrow like this, and pull the string back. You point your finger out to help you aim at your target. Now you open the hand pulling the string back and hit the target." Jim had been showing the class how it was supposed to be done, and his arrow hit the center of the target that he had been aiming at.

"Now, I want Xavier, Damon, Erethyr, and Jeremie to do this first. Then we'll have the next four people do this until we have the eight best archers. You will each fire only one arrow before handing it to the next person in line," Jim declared as the lines were formed. The first four in line did as they were told, but only Xavier and Erethyr hit their targets. "Good job. Now get into the back of your lines. NEXT!!!"

The archery class continued like that until the eight best archers were selected. "Xavier, Odd, Ulrich, Nicolas, Erethyr, Aelita, Teysa, and Asmira: you eight are the best archers; now for the final contest to see who is the best archer. Erethyr, Aelita, Nicolas, and Asmira, you're up first," Jim declared. The four in question did their best, but Aelita and Nicolas were the closest to the center of their targets.

"Aelita and Nicolas, you're moving on to the next round. Erethyr and Asmira, you two are on the bench. Xavier, Odd, Ulrich, and Teysa: you're up," Jim commanded.

Xavier, Odd, Ulrich, and Teysa all went up to fire their arrows. Out of those four, Xavier hit the center of the target and Odd hit the innermost ring. Ulrich and Teysa didn't even get that close. "Wow, Xavier and Odd, you're pretty good. You two move on to the next round. Ulrich and Teysa, hit the benches. Now for the semi-finals," Jim exclaimed.

Xavier, Odd, Aelita, and Nicolas all stepped up to fire their bows. When they fired their shots, Xavier once again hit the center of his target; Odd was only an inch away from the center this time; and Aelita and Nicolas were both on the innermost ring of their targets. "So, it has been decided," Jim announced, "Out of all of you, Xavier is the best archer. Now he has to go up against me."

Jim readied his shot and hit the center of his target. "Try and beat that one," Jim challenged. Xavier just grinned as he readied his bow and split Jim's arrow. "What?!"

Jim fired an arrow at another target and Xavier split that one too. This kept on going until they ran out of targets. "So, you're a good shot too, Xavier," Jim declared.

"Heh, I practice a lot at home," Xavier replied, getting a few grins from the Lyoko group.

The bell rang, and the students went to their next classes. This happened to be history for the bulk of the group. When they got their, they were surprised to see Yumi and William there at the teacher's desk. "What the fuck?!" Erethyr exclaimed.

"Your history teacher said he'd give us a lot of extra credit if we subbed this class for him today. Something came up at the last minute, so the principal didn't have enough time to find a sub," Yumi explained smiling.

"Besides, it's just for this hour. He left us an assignment to give your class. Cool, huh," William added.

"On a scale of good to bad…" Damon commented.

"THIS IS AWESOME," Odd exclaimed.

"No, this is bad. Sissi in this class, remember," Damon corrected.

"Shit, that's right. She's going to challenge you two every step of the way," Ulrich stated.

"What are you two doing here," Sissi proclaimed.

"Speaking of the devil," Aelita stated.

"And what's that supposed to mean," Sissi stated, anger tipping her voice.

"Just what I said. They got asked to sub for just this hour," Aelita explained.

"Humph," Sissi huffed and went to her seat.

Class soon started; Yumi and William quickly gave the class their assignment, but not without a problem.

"What should make us think that you aren't giving us the wrong assignment," Sissi protested.

"Do you ever shut up," Damon responded.

"Why should I! She's probably just trying to trick us," Sissi argued.

"Then how do you explain this," Yumi put the lesson plan right in front of Sissi, with the teacher's signature on it.

"But…but…but," Sissi stammered.

"Man, you just got faced," Odd stated.

"Insuperably," Xavier added.

"Who the hell says that any more," Ulrich stated.

"Well, apparently I do," Xavier justified, getting laughs from the entire class.

Class went on normally, and lunch went by uneventfully. Soon school was over for the day. The group of friends was hovering near the snack machines talking about what they were going to do.

"Has anybody figured out a battle plan yet," Ulrich asked.

"No, but I did think of something," Damon stated.

"What is it," Odd asked eagerly.

"There are eight of us going to Lyoko," Damon stated.

"Yeah, what's your point," Jeremie replied, not getting his point.

"The Skiff only has enough slots for six people," Damon declared, and everybody groaned. He was right, but who was going to stay behind.

"I've got a solution to that predicament," Xavier stated.

"What is it," Yumi asked.

"I've got a couple of pods in storage on Sector Five. Two of us could use those, and I'll be doing that option. So that means that there will be only one person left to do that," Xavier explained.

"Man, why is it that I can never get away from water," Damon groaned.

"Because you love me so much," said Erethyr eagerly.

Damon started nodding and shaking his finger at her, "I think you have me there."

"So who's going to be using the other pod," Aelita asked.

"I will," William stated flatly.

"Well, now that that's settled; let's head to the factory and get that orb," Jeremie declared.

The friends headed to the factory via their sewer route. They knew that they were in trouble from the description that Xavier had given to them, but they pushed forward anyway.


	13. The Great Fight Scene

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. My Image-Realifier is working perfectly however. Now I can make Sephiroth bend to my whim, BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!...okay, I'm done gloating now….

A/N: Okay, I know that I've been skimping on the action as of late, so to make up for it I decided to make this an action chapter. Instead of just saying 'Yay! We beat it!' I'm going all out on the details. My main reviewer asked me why I decided to use Final Fantasy music. Simply put, you can't beat the classics man; and Final Fantasy is very classic. To everyone that hasn't been reviewing: PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU! I NEED THEM! But, I digress. Please R&R, I've got a shit-load of cards here, and I don't know how to use them….BEWARE!!!

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The Lyoko warriors had already been virtualized, and were already heading to the Skiff. William was in his first Lyoko outfit, a blue and black jumpsuit with a black jagged line down the front. His sword no longer had the infectious growth all over it, relieving the entire group. "What about your pods," Yumi asked Xavier. 

Xavier just grinned and knocked on a side panel in the dry dock area. It slid open, revealing two pods. These pods looked just like the regular pods except for one thing.

"Are those cannons mounted on the sides," Ulrich asked.

"Yep, I programmed them myself," Xavier proclaimed, beaming with pride. The group got into their positions and left the dry dock.

They were hovering over the digital sea when Damon said, "Wake me when we get there. As long as I don't know that I'm underwater I shouldn't freak."

They very quickly left Lyoko and were in the net. They made a beeline for the nearest hub and arrived at the sphere where the red orb was held.

"I'll crack the password," Jeremie stated.

"No need," Xavier declared, "I already have it." He zoomed in front of the Skiff and beamed the password into the lock. It opened and the entire group went inside.

What they saw was breathtaking. They were in front of a medieval castle, moat and everything. "We're here," Aelita said, rousing Damon from his slumber.

"That nap felt great. I just wish that it could have lasted longer," Damon proclaimed.

"Why," Erethyr asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Damon replied, in his best Jim impression.

The group was laughing for a bit until Aelita said, "Energize." The group that had been in the Skiff were beamed out onto the digital landscape. Xavier and William simply opened the hatches to their pods and walked out.

"Alright, first things first. We need to open the drawbridge," Xavier declared.

"How do we do that," Odd asked.

"You see that chain at the top," Xavier stated, pointing at it.

"Yeah," Odd replied, not seeing where he was getting at.

"We need to take down that chain in order to lower it," Xavier stated, readying his bow. He took his shot and hit the chain, breaking it. The drawbridge lowered with a thud, allowing them access to the castle. They entered, and what they saw confused them.

"Why is this castle surrounding a giant block with a hole in it," William asked.

"That giant block is the outside of the maze. It has ten levels to it, and the outside is incapable of being scaled even with your vehicles. It took me a while to make this, so beware of the traps inside," Xavier declared, heading into the hole, with the rest of them following.

Xavier led them through the maze, but it took them a long time to finally scale the top. Because Xavier was in the lead, he was the only one to get hurt. He planned it that way so that the rest of them would be undamaged for the fight ahead. At the top of the block, they saw nothing in front of them.

"What's the big idea? I don't see any dragon around here Xavier," Ulrich stated as he was scanning the area. When he looked at Xavier, he was looking at something over head; his bow was drawn and an energy arrow fletched onto the string. Ulrich and the rest of them looked up into the sky too, and saw a speck flying in the sky high above them. The speck was growing larger, however. It soon grew large enough for them to make out its features. It was a gigantic red dragon with horns like a bull. It landed on the block right next to them and sent shock waves out that knocked the entire group flat on their asses. It then issued forth a deafening roar, releasing a small belch of flame.

"I guess that's the guardian," William stated.

"That's one big lizard," Odd stammered.

"Yeah, here's the battle plan," Xavier declared, "Yumi, Aelita, Odd, and I will fire at its eyes with our projectiles. Ulrich: you will take Erethyr and William up to attack it with your swords. Damon…you just try to get up to the base of its neck so that you can wail away at its head."

"That sounds pretty dangerous," Damon replied.

"And I think that you may be the only one that could actually do it," Xavier responded. The group went into their attack formation. Xavier, Odd, and Yumi were on the ground firing away at the beast's eyes. Aelita was in the air doing the same thing with her energy blasts. This was causing the beast enough pain to distract it from the four figures coming at it.

Ulrich shouted, "Triplicate!" He now added two copies of himself into the fray. They, Erethyr, and William all drew their swords and chose a limb to start hacking away at. Damon, however, spent his time running around to the back.

The dragon took a massive swipe at one of the Ulrichs, destroying a clone instantly and nearly missing another. William shouted, "Fuck this," and got underneath the dragon and started hacking away at its belly. The dragon roared in anger, allowing Yumi to throw a fan at its mouth, cutting its tongue. The beast was roaring in even more pain now, but that didn't stop it from noticing that it now had a passenger on its tail. The dragon tried to flick Damon off, but he had already gotten a grip and wasn't letting go.

Aelita fired an energy blast into the dragon's right eye, making it roar with renewed agony. There was an unexpected consequence to this, however. The dragon took flight, with Damon attached to its tail. "MOMMY," was the only thing that could be heard coming from his mouth as the dragon took flight. It didn't fly far before turning around, opening its mouth.

"SHIT!! IT'S GETTING READY TO BREATH FIRE!! GET READY TO RUN LIKE A MOTHER FUCKER," Xavier shouted. The dragon did indeed breathe fire, but only managed to hit the last Ulrich clone, instantly incinerating it. The dragon wasn't satisfied with this, so it made three more swoops. It missed all of its targets each time. It roared before crashing onto the ground with a thud. It landed right on top of William, with his sword pointed into the air. His sword penetrated the dragon's hide, doing massive damage. The dragon roared with pain and flicked its tail like a whip, getting Damon to finally let go.

"DAMON," Erethyr shouted, now officially pissed off.

"AAHHHHH," Damon shouted, his voice getting dimmer as he flew higher into the air until his friends could no longer hear him. As he flew higher into the air, he decided that it would look cool if he came down in his rage mode. He entered his rage mode, looking like he always did when he used his Lyoko power. There was a difference this time however, he was now sheathed in a red smoke as he fell.

The group saw the red speck falling and wondered what the hell was happening. Aelita flew up to meet this falling object, energy orbs at the ready, while her friends were left to fight the dragon.

Ulrich and Erethyr were hacking away at the dragon's ankles furiously. The dragon took notice of them and tried to swat them. Erethyr did a flip over its clawed paw and chopped off two of its claws. Ulrich yelled, "Super Sprint," and jumped on top of its clawed paw and ran up its length to attack the dragon's neck. The dragon took notice of this and swung its head at Ulrich. He was unprepared for this and got hit, flying through the air until he was at the edge of the block, unconscious.

Erethyr was even more enraged at this point and entered her own form of Damon's rage. Her hair became straight and spiky and her scimitars turned into falchions. She was now glowing an angry pink and when she took her swings at the dragon's ankle, she sliced it off. The dragon roared in pain and fell over, now completely off balance.

In the air, Aelita had met the red speck and was surprised to see that it was Damon. "What the fuck," she said.

Damon simply stretched out his arm with a clenched fist and waited until he was within earshot of the rest of the group before yelling, "BONZAI, MOTHER FUCKER!!!" His fall was fast and he landed on the dragon's head. This sent visible pulsations into the air where he hit. The dragon didn't even get the chance to roar in pain before it exploded in a red flash of light. Damon simply flipped out of it and was standing there triumphantly.

The explosion seemed to undo itself, however. The light from the explosion came back in on itself and where there was once a dragon; there was now a huge horned serpent. It hissed at them before lunging at Ulrich, seeing an easy target. It bit down into Ulrich, instantly devirtualizing him. It turned to see seven enemies before it, and two of them were glowing.

The serpent hissed and lunged at its nearest opponent, which just so happened to be William. Aelita, Yumi, Odd, and Xavier started firing frantically at the serpent, trying to divert its attack. This worked to an extent, causing the serpent to rear up and hissed at its enemies. Erethyr and William took their golden opportunity and chopped away at the serpent, causing it to shriek in pain. It whipped its tail at Erethyr and hit her, knocking her unconscious and flying over the edge. She stopped glowing and her falchions returned to their normal state. Aelita swooped down and caught her before she could fall very far. She placed the limp form as far away from the serpent as she could. Damon was now even further enraged, and the serpent was now lunging at him. He punched its head with all of his might, releasing a thunderous crack from the impact. The serpent went flying and was now dazed.

The group took their golden opportunity and renewed their attack. William was trying to chop away at its neck and Damon lunged at its head, punching as hard and as fast as he possibly could. The rest of the group was firing their projectiles at its eyes, trying not to hit Damon. The serpent stopped being dazed and flipped its head up, knocking Damon high into the air again. Odd got the final attack this time, hitting it squarely in the eye. It exploded in another flash of red light as Aelita flew up to stop Damon from hitting the ground…hard.

She caught him and Erethyr was roused as she landed on the ground, a no longer enraged Damon in her arms. "Uhn….my head," Erethyr groaned, holding her head.

"You know, I've said that what, three times now," Damon declared, "Once when I first awoke in Lyoko, when I got out of XANA's control, and after the first time that I flew into a rage. I think that it might be a side effect. Just realize that it'd probably be a bad thing to fly off the handle again so soon."

"Thanks for the advice," Erethyr stated as she tried to get up slowly.

"Woah, you need to rest a little bit first," Xavier said concernedly, "You took a nasty hit there. The serpent should reform into the minotaur soon. But the change is drastic so we have a little while to regroup. Jeremie, what is our life point count?"

"Xavier, 20. Odd, 100. Yumi, 100. Damon, 40. Aelita, 100. Erethyr, 20. You were right that last hit was pretty nasty. Here in a little bit, you should be able to do some healing Erethyr," Jeremie proclaimed.

"Thanks, but I think that I should be good for now," Erethyr as she got up, wobbling a little bit.

"Are you alright there," Damon asked concerned for her well being.

"Yeah, I'll be alright," Erethyr responded.

"Bad news guys. SAI has just activated a tower in the desert region, I'll try to find out what is happening," Jeremie proclaimed.

"Thanks for the update Jeremie, but I think that ugly is feeling better now," Odd exclaimed as the explosion again seemed to reverse itself. Now there was a nine foot tall minotaur in front of them, bellowing in fury.

"Puny humans, why have you come here," it shouted.

"We've come for the orb that you are protecting," Xavier declared.

"How do you know of it," the minotaur inquired hastily.

"Because I made both you and it," Xavier replied.

"Impossible, I was created by a powerful being, which you are not," The minotaur responded, now sounding ticked.

"After this form you will turn into an armored knight and your horns will become your blades," Xavier stated.

"ENOUGH!!! We fight now," the minotaur bellowed and charge at Xavier, head down and attempting a gore attack. Xavier just stood there and waited for it, to everybody's surprise.

"NO!! Get out of the way," Yumi yelled.

"Now is your chance to attack it, just remember this. The orb is its heart," Xavier declared as he got impaled. With a grunt, he was devirtualized. Damon quickly flew into his enraged state again and slammed the minotaur over the head with enough force to knock it to the ground. Odd fired three arrows at it, Yumi threw both of her fans, and Aelita fired both of her energy blasts at it. The minotaur simply grunted and got back up. He took a swing at Damon, who dodged expertly and countered with a backhand of his own. The minotaur was reeling from the force of the blow. Odd took advantage of the situation and fired five more Laser Arrows at the minotaur's face.

It howled in pain, covering its face, and was glowing in a black aura of its own. "Shit, I think that I just pissed it off," Odd stated.

"Gee, you think," Erethyr commented sarcastically. The minotaur now howled in anger and leveled a gaze at Damon. It charged at him with reckless abandon, trying to gore its foe. Damon simply waited for it to get close enough and ducked. He then performed a powerful uppercut that sent the minotaur into the air. Erethyr rushed in and jumped into the air, slicing the minotaur in the gut with both of her scimitars before landing on the other side near Damon.

She put away her scimitars and walked up to Damon, glowing a warmer pink than she was earlier. "Here, this may help," she said simply as Damon also started to glow pink along with his red aura. He started to regain life points. When he was at full health Erethyr started to devirtualize.

"No, why did you do that," Damon inquired, worry in his voice.

"You needed the health more than I did. Now it is up to you to use it," she state before she finished devirtualizing. Damon now started to feel that same calm take over him that he had first felt when he beat William and met XANA face to face. The minotaur got up and tried to charge at him again, foaming at the mouth.

Damon had returned to his normal state of body, but this time he was glowing a faint white aura. He grabbed the minotaur by the throat and yelled, "Now William. Strike him down."

William took his cue and started spinning his blade around. He hit the minotaur in the chest and stood there spinning, hitting the minotaur until it too exploded. Damon lost his white aura and collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.

"Any news, Jeremie," Aelita asked, rushing over to Damon's side.

"Yeah, apparently she's sent a polymorphic specter into town. This is really bad guys, it's blowing up buildings with little regard for the life of others," Jeremie proclaimed hysterically.

"Any casualties yet," Damon inquired.

"No, not yet, but that could change soon if you don't hurry," Jeremie declared urgently.

"You might not have that much longer to wait," Odd stated as the explosion once again reversed upon itself. Damon stood back up slowly as an armored night coalesced where the minotaur once was. It raised its horn-shaped swords over its head and brought them down on Damon, devirtualizing him on the spot. Aelita backed off and took to the air, so as not to get hurt. That was a necessity if they were to deactivate the tower.

"Ye knaves shalt not receive the orb that I hold," the knight declared, going in to attack William. William used his sword as a shield while Yumi threw her fans and hit the night in the head. Aelita started to continuously use her energy blasts on the foe, with a greater effect than Yumi's fans had. "Why dost thou not fade thee like a man, wench!"

"Because, she ain't no man, Renaldo," Odd declared, nicknaming their new opponent. He got groans from Yumi and Aelita while William threw his weight behind his sword. He managed to knock the night back and took a powerful swing at it. He cleaved through the knight's armor with ease and Odd fired the rest of his Laser Arrows into the opening in the knight's chest. They all felt a soft ping as the knight clutched its chest in pain. Yumi threw her fans again, this time knocking off the knight's helmet, revealing there to be nothing underneath. Odd and Aelita both took their golden opportunities and got directly above the new opening and fired inside. The knight shouted in pain. Odd saw something red inside the knight, so without a moments hesitation he stuck his hand in there and pulled it out. As soon as he pulled out the red orb, the knight exploded-this time to stay dead.

"Yay! We did it," Odd shouted as they quickly made their way down the block via the sides. They got to the pods and Odd and William decided to take the two separate pods while Yumi and Aelita got into the Skiff. They booked it back to Lyoko back the way that they came and parked their submersibles in the desert region nearby the tower. SAI had been expecting for the Lyoko warriors to be beaten by the red guardian, so she left no resistance. She rushed into the tower and deactivated it.

"Return to the past now," Jeremie proclaimed as a white wall of light engulfed the entire world, resetting it to earlier that day, all except for Lyoko. Now the red orb was now circling around its core and the pods were parked where they belonged.

"Man, that fight was intense," Damon proclaimed after school that day.

"Yeah, let's just hope that the final orb doesn't have a guardian that tough," Xavier stated.

"You know what," Ulrich stated.

"No, what," Xavier inquired.

"You really proved yourself back there, Xavier. You have officially gained my trust and a little bit of my respect," Ulrich replied.

"Me too," Yumi declared.

"Yeah, you could have let us get hurt by all those traps and you also let the minotaur hit you so that we could take it down. I officially give you kudos," Erethyr stated.

"Yeah, that was so cool. But as we all know, I truly defeated the guardian," Odd boasted.

"And you'll never let us live it down, will you," Aelita stated.

"Probably not," Odd laughed. This got the entire group laughing.

"But they are right. You have earned a little bit of my trust," Aelita declared, surprising the entire group.

"Does this mean what I think it means," Damon asked.

"Yep. He's officially one of us," Jeremie declared, to much cheering. The day went on like nothing had happened. But now, the entire group knew that their old nemesis was truly their newest ally. And with that knowledge they were able to go on with their normal lives, even with a great evil lurking just around the next corner.


	14. Reunions

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. Sephiroth did destroy Pluto…and himself. I am now placing Pluto back where it belongs. Maybe the Image-Realifier wasn't such a good idea…

A/N: Here we are at glorious chapter 14. Only one left to go in this week's installment of chapters. I hope that all of you liked how much action I packed into the last chapter. I plan on doing that every time a write a nice character development chapter, so you are forewarned. I do hope that you liked that I decided to show that my OCs weren't invincible. Before you ask, Damon is slightly freaking the fuck out after that last fight. After a little bit of help from Erethyr he is alright, however. I just had to give him hazard pay after that. Anyway, please R&R. I do have a set of bagpipes, and I know how to play them horribly over every TV station worldwide…BWAHAHAHAHA!!!...okay I'm done now.

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It had been a month since the fight to get the red orb. Jeremie had been working hard to find the final orb while Xavier was working equally hard to find Franz Hopper. Xavier had moved into the room right across the hall from Jeremie. Aelita was still trying to learn how to trust Xavier, and felt like she might be able to trust him half as far as she could throw him. Odd and Ulrich had been bugging Damon to teach them his dodging skills. Yumi had been trying to evade William's advances, and was still succeeding. William had caught up on everything that he missed while he was gone. Erethyr was trying to figure out how she had tapped into a rage ability on Lyoko, just like Damon. 

"Could this be…" Xavier thought out loud, typing away at his computer. He checked back over the figures and cried for joy. At the same time, Jeremie was making another discovery on his own computer. They both opened the doors to their rooms at the same time and ran into each other, each trying to get to the other's room and reveal what they had found.

"Ow," Xavier stated.

"That hurt," Jeremie declared, rubbing his head, "Xavier! I've got something amazing to tell you!"

"Same here, you first," Xavier stated.

"Alright, I found the last orb! It's green…like the one in Damon's nightmares way back. Man, those stopped once you joined our group, now that I think about it," Jeremie stated.

"I found Hopper," Xavier stated. He also told Jeremie the coordinates that he had found him at.

"Huh, that's weird," Jeremie proclaimed.

"Why is that weird," Xavier asked.

"Because those are the exact same coordinates as the green orb," Jeremie replied.

"That makes sense, in a very weird way," Xavier stated.

"Why is that," Jeremie inquired.

"Where better place to hide oneself, than with something else that is heavily guarded," Xavier responded.

"What do you mean," Jeremie asked, not quite seeing where he was going.

"If you hide yourself by something that is heavily guarded, then you will be able to see what is coming. He would be able to see if what was coming was either friend or foe. This way he'd be able to see whether to reveal himself or to run to another safe position," Xavier explained.

"True, so why the green orb. Why didn't he run to yours, that was pretty damn well guarded," Jeremie inquired.

"Maybe there's something special that the green orb has that the other orbs don't," Xavier speculated.

"Could be; Well anyway, we've got to tell the rest of the group about this," Jeremie declared.

"Tomorrow at the school gates would be a good time. Right now, both of us have earned some rest. I know that I haven't slept for the past two days, so I'm long overdue," Xavier said with a yawn, "G'night." He went into his room and closed the door, Jeremie could actually hear the thump as Xavier fell onto his bed and the snores that came soon afterward.

"Damn, he is tired. But he is right, we've both earned a good nights rest," Jeremie commented as he too went to bed, but not quite as loudly as Xavier did.

At the front gates the following morning, the gang was all present and accounted for before Ulrich asked, "So, what's the big news you two."

"We've found the green orb and Aelita's father," Jeremie and Xavier proclaimed at the same time.

"Oh my god, thank you Jeremie," Aelita said, her hands in front of her face.

"Don't thank me, thank Xavier. He's the one that found your father," Jeremie stated humbly.

"Thank you Xavier! When can we go and rescue him," Aelita said excitedly.

"We have only a half day of school today, so how about after lunch," Yumi stated.

"That sounds great," Erethyr exclaimed.

"Yeah, that'll give us another chance to stop SAI. Maybe for good this time," Damon stated.

"At least I'll be going to Lyoko on a full stomach this time," Odd commented.

"When is your stomach ever full," William asked.

"That's actually a good question. I've never seen him full," Ulrich commented.

"Hey, just because I eat a lot doesn't mean that I never have a full stomach," Odd pouted.

"Oh Odd," Erethyr said, "You'll always be a purple pig with sweaty palms in my eyes." The entire group laughed at this, even Odd. After all, he had walked himself right into that joke once again. The school bell rang and they went off to their classes.

For Aelita, the day couldn't pass by fast enough. She was but hours away from seeing her father again for the first time in about twelve years. The day seemed to be moving like sands in an hourglass for the entire group. They were anxious to get the green orb and rescue Aelita's father, Franz Hopper. They could only speculate as to why both were in the same place, however. After what felt like forever, lunch finally came and went and the group was heading off to the factory via their normal sewer route. Aelita and Jeremie were using their scooters. Yumi, Ulrich, William, and Odd were on their skateboards. Damon and Erethyr were on their attachable rollerblades. Xavier was on foot, but he was just as fast on foot as the rest of the group was on their wheels. They quickly reached the factory and Jeremie set up at the computer lab while the rest of them headed down to the scanners.

"Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Odd. Transfer, Ulrich," Jeremie exclaimed as he typed the commands, "Scanner Yumi. Scanner, Odd. Scanner, Ulrich. Virtualization." The first set of three were in Sector Five when Jeremie started getting the next group at the same place.

"Transfer, Damon. Transfer, William. Transfer, Xavier," Jeremie exclaimed, inputting the commands again, "Scanner, Damon. Scanner, William. Scanner, Xavier. Virtualization." The second set of three now joined the previous three as Jeremie now started transferring the final two.

"Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Erethyr," Jeremie exclaimed, inputting the commands for a final time, "Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Erethyr. Virtualization." Now the entire group was in Sector Five and was heading towards the dry dock. The group went into their separate pods and departed from Lyoko shortly thereafter. "I'm uploading the coordinates to you: Aelita, Xavier, and William."

"They have been received, Jeremie," Aelita declared.

"Got them, thanks Jeremie," William stated.

"Already had them, but thanks for the thought Jeremie," Xavier proclaimed, reminding him that they had both found the location. All of them headed towards the nearest hub, with Damon closing his eyes trying to convince himself that he wasn't underwater. He was failing miserably.

Within moments, they emerged from another hub and headed towards the coordinates that they had received. They found another sphere that was locked, "I'll start cracking the code Aelita. Just hang tight, this could take a few minutes," Jeremie proclaimed as The Skiff went into vertical mode and started sending a link to the lock. In about four minutes, Jeremie had opened the lock and the port opened up allowing the three ships to enter.

When they got above water, Aeita said, "Okay Damon, you can open your eyes now."

Damon opened his eyes just as they were energized onto the virtual landscape. "Wow, it's…" were the only words that came out of Damon's mouth.

"It looks like what could be best described as ancient Babylonian architecture," Xavier stated.

"Right out of the textbooks," Erethyr muttered, amazed at what she was seeing. The world before them did indeed look like ancient Babylon in its prime, and there were even warriors milling about as if they were getting ready for war.

"Whoever designed this made a great effort to put in every imaginable detail," Ulrich stated.

"This is pretty cool," William stated.

"I wonder what the guardian looks like," Odd wondered.

"I think we might be about to find out," Yumi stated, pointing at all of the warriors that were making their formations.

"Why have you come here," one of the warriors, apparently a captain, declared.

"We have come for the green orb," Xavier responded, "We need it to help us save our own world."

"And we're also wondering if my father is here," Aelita declared, "The last time I saw him he looked like several balls of light." There was a hushed murmur that went through the soldiers.

The captain put up his hand, silencing his warriors, and declared, "None shall take either the green orb or the illuminated one. They were sent to us by the gods themselves." The warriors readied their swords and bows, preparing to repel their invaders.

"Well, apparently diplomacy didn't work," Odd stated, "What do we do now?"

The captain yelled, "ATTACK!!!" The warriors wielding swords rushed in, there were over sixty of them attacking simultaneously. The ones with bows fired their arrows into the air so that they would arch down and hit the Lyoko group. None of the arrows hit the group, but a few of them got close. Xavier readied his own bow and fired at the warriors coming at them, taking down four of them. Odd fired all of his Laser Arrows into the mob and Jeremie refilled him; he took down about three of them. Yumi threw her fans and one of them got blocked, the other one took down a warrior. Aelita was flying in the air and firing her energy blasts at the archers, taking down as many of them as she could.

"I guess that it's our turn," Damon proclaimed and went in for the attack, his sword-wielding allies following in after him. A few of the warriors laughed at Damon for being unarmed, until they saw him get angry. The ones that were laughing automatically got fearful, seeing his faintly demonic presence. Those were the first ones to get hit; they went flying through their allies, taking a few of them down with them. William was using his favored spin maneuver, and taking down several of them. They couldn't hit William because their swords were shorter that his. Ulrich and Erethyr went in swords flashing, but the warriors put up a good fight against them until Ulrich yelled "Triplicate" making two more of him. The warriors were slightly fearful at this point, these kids had supernatural powers and knew how to fight. They continued fighting, however.

Within a matter of minutes, there were only twenty sword-wielding adversaries left. Damon was hurting badly, and was fighting back as hard as he could. He had taken out fifteen warriors by himself, and was damn proud of it. William, Aelita, Xavier, Yumi, and Odd had taken no damage from their opponents. Ulrich and Erethyr were fading fast, but continued to put up a good fight. Damon got a sword through the chest and was immediately devirtualized. Unfortunately for the warriors, Erethyr saw this. She roared with her rage and grief, and entered her own rage. She was once again glowing pink and her scimitars had turned into falchions. All of the warriors within five feet had flown into the air from the explosion that this change created; all others were looking at her, fearful for their own lives.

Erethyr was a flurry of movement; she stalked to her left and was cleaving through all of her opponents before they could put up a good defense. "She is really scary when she gets mad," Ulrich stated. All of the warriors within earshot of him nodded in agreement. In a matter of moments, all of the warriors had been defeated, leaving just the archers. Erethyr turned around and leveled them with a glare that could have made an ordinary man shit his pants and run away crying for his mother. These warriors stood fast and aimed all of their bows at her.

"NO! ERETHYR, LOOK OUT," Aelita shouted, but it was too late. Thrity arrows peppered Erethyr, and she was devirtualized with a look of feral surprise on her face. Ulrich went in, swords moving as fast as lightning. Xavier started firing three arrows at a time. Odd decided to charge in, firing as many Laser Arrows as he could. Yumi and Aelita were hitting their foes from afar.

"WAIT!" A voice yelled, only Aelita could recognize the voice readily.

"Daddy, is that you," Aelita called out.

A man with a white beard and grey hair and glasses, wearing a brown robe that touched the ground, and wielding a cane with a green orb at the top walked forward. "Illuminated one, we are trying to protect you from these intruders," the captain declared.

"There is no need," this illuminated one said, "They are not our enemies, and that is my daughter." He pointed at Aelita and she ran up to him and hugged him.

"But I thought that you couldn't have a human form in the digital universe," Aelita stated.

"I couldn't, that is until I found the green orb. Erethyr's orb, the orb of healing," to emphasize his point he tapped his cane on the ground. It glowed and all of the warriors were resurrected, and looked as though nothing had happened to them, save for an understanding of what was going on.

"Wow, that's amazing," Odd declared, "It's both night light and medic. What will they think of next?"

"Jeremie, this is Franz Hopper. I've used the orb to refresh the character cards. I'm now sending a beacon so that your two friends can come straight here."

"They're already on their way," Jeremie declared. Within moments, Damon and Erethyr were back in the Babylonian landscape.

"So, who's the guardian of the orb anyway," Ulrich asked.

"These soldiers are a first line of defense. Since they were defeated the true guardian will show itself. You will notice that the architecture here is indeed Babylonian, reflecting one of Artemis's interests," Franz stated.

Damon saw where he was going with this, "Shit. You don't mean that…" Damon inquired hysterically.

"What? What else could he have possibly been interested in that could frighten you so," Ulrich asked, dreading his answer.

"Ancient Greece," was the only thing that Damon could manage to say.

"More specifically, Sparta," Franz finished.

"What do you mean," William asked.

"The Spartans were decidedly the most skilled warriors of ancient times. Their god was a reflection of that. Surely you have heard of the Battle of Thermopylae," Franz inquired.

"You mean that we are going to have to face off against the greatest warriors of all time," Erethyr proclaimed hysterically.

"Maybe even their god too," Yumi exclaimed, starting to feel the hysteria.

"Indeed, wait. Is that you XANA? What are you doing here," Franz asked.

"My files got purified when the Core of Lyoko got destroyed. I'm one of the good guys now. I even have their trust and friendship after what I did. But I'm now called Xavier."

"It sure helped that he has been warning us of impending dangers, like SAI and the guardian of his orb," Yumi stated.

"And my nightmares," Damon added.

"And helping find you daddy," Aelita finished, "You have no idea how much I've missed you since I got my memories back."

"That goes for me too, Aelita. Now can any of you theorize as to why Artemis would put up so many tough defenses to Erethyr's orb, or as to why I would choose to seclude myself here," Franz inquired.

"I have a theory," Xavier stated, "How better to protect an orb of healing than with the fiercest warriors of all time. An orb that can do that much does need the heaviest defenses. As for why you came here, Artemis knew of your plight with the government, so he must have made you an accepted user in this world. Thus, you would have a safe haven where you could be safe and greet people like us when we came."

"Correct on both guesses. Now riddle me this. Why would somebody that wanted to destroy humanity now choose to help try to save it?" Franz inquired.

"Let's just call it my repentance," Xavier declared. The earth at their feet started to rumble and a mountain started to rise from the ground.

"What the fuck is that," Damon exclaimed.

"That would be where the second stage of repulsion will come from. I'm sorry, but since none of you are users here, I cannot help you with this wave. I will talk to Ares, however. I will try to tell him that you are allies and that one of you is the daughter that I've talked to him so much about," Franz stated.

"Any help would be greatly appreciated," Erethyr stated. Franz vanished in a flash of light to talk to Ares.

The mountain finished rising and great wooden gates opened, releasing only twenty Spartans. "Is that all of them," William asked, "That doesn't seem so tough."

"Remember, at Thermopylae there were only three hundred Spartans against thousands of Persians. Sure the Spartans lost, but they survived for three days. Just long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Those three hundred Spartans were able to hold of thousands of Persians for that long. Now think about that and you will realize just how much trouble we are in right now if they are sending twenty Spartans against the eight of us," Damon explained to his friend.

"Fuck," was the only thing that came out of William's mouth as he readied himself for the battle ahead. The Spartans were casually strolling up to them. It did not matter to them that one of their foes had the ability to fly. They believed that they would win, without losing any of their own warriors.

"Um, if you want to get pissed now Erethyr," Ulrich stated, "I'm all for it at this point."

"Rage isn't my primary power, I don't think that I can activate it at will," Erethyr replied frantically.

"You might not be able to, but I can," Damon declared as he went into his enraged state.

"We're going to have to watch that one," one of the Spartans said to his comrades.

"Indeed, I saw his battle with the Babylonians. He fights like a demon, without the use of any weaponry. He can match a sword with his fist-and defeat it," another Spartan declared.

"And the red-haired one has even more destructive powers if the black one falls in combat," another one of the Spartans declared.

"The one with the fans is not much of a threat, but she is an agile one and a tactician to boot," a fourth Spartan said.

"The pink-haired one seems to have a connection to the illuminated one. We might also have to watch out for her witchcraft," another Spartan declared.

"Both of the archers we need to be wary of. They both seem to have excellent aim and the ability to hit multiple targets at the same time," a sixth Spartan declared.

"Beware of the blue ones spin maneuver, that could be trouble," yet another Babylonian warned.

"The yellow one seems to have much speed and the ability to make copies of himself. He might be one of the most troublesome," the second Spartan declared. With that said and their tactics devised on the fly, the Spartans charged in.

William started things off by taking a huge swing with his sword. One of the Spartans parried it with his sword and stabbed him. William staggered back and finally realized just what he was really up against. He started to use his spin move, and the Spartan tried to jump over it to get at William. William saw this and brought his sword up in mid swing and chopped his foe in twain with a single swipe.

There were six Spartans on the Ulrichs three, trying to get in at his defense. Ulrich had had plenty of practice in blocking attacks from all of the monsters he had faced on Lyoko, so this was no problem for him. He even managed to land a few blows on the Spartans, but not enough to defeat them.

The Spartans couldn't even close enough to Aelita, Yumi, Odd, or Xavier due to their fast and furious projectile firing. The Spartans were too bust trying to deflect all of the projectiles that were coming at them to advance on these four teenagers.

Erethyr had three Spartans on her, trying to suppress her and not allow her to see what was going on with Damon. They knew that if she saw what was happening with Damon then they might have some problems. Erethyr kept on fighting back as hard as she could, but was more worried about what was happening with Damon than about her own personal safety.

Damon had eight Spartans on him, and they couldn't even touch him. Between his dodging skills and his enraged strength, they were evenly matched. Damon wasn't getting hit, but whenever he hit one of them that one was taken out of the fight for a little while.

After about ten minutes the group was starting to tire. The Spartans were slowly advancing on the long-range combatants. William had gotten hit a couple more times as Ulrich's clones had fallen; these Spartans had decided to go after him. Ulrich was now fighting one on one; when his clones had been defeated and their foes had gone after William he had managed to fell one of his opponents. Erethyr had manged to carve up one of her adversaries and was occasionally able to get a glance at Damon's situation. Damon had managed to take two Spartans completely out of the fight, but he still had six more on him. Out of all of the Lyoko warriors, he was the one that was the most tired.

All six Spartans now stabbed at Damon simultaneously. He couldn't dodge them all and got hit with three of the swords. The Spartans now turned away from him and walked off to help their comrades that were being held back by the projectile users. "NNOOOOO," Erethyr yelled as she saw Damon slowly start to devirtualize. She got more pissed off than she had her entire existence. Her remaining two combatants were literally blown away by the explosion of her rage. Her eyes turned a fierce shade of red while she started glowing a very angry pink. Her scimitars turned into falchions, but now they were even more evil looking than they had been the last two times that she had gotten made. Her aura seemed to beg for bloodshed, the bloodshed of thousands or at least these Spartans before her.

Damon's secondary rage power activated at this point and he started to glow white. He reformed his digital self and his features went back to their original form. The Spartans saw both of their transformations and almost shit their pants. Even the Lyoko warriors hadn't seen both of their rage powers simultaneously, much less at their full capacities. They started worrying about whether or not they would be able to tell friend from foe.

The Spartans dropped their fights and went to these two teens, one fully enraged and the other in a state of rapture. More of them concentrated on the fully pissed off Erethyr than on Damon, sensing that it would take more of them to take her down than it would Damon. Erethyr was cleaving through the Spartans as though they were air. Damon simply punched one and the pulsations from the blow knocked the others out. He looked over at Erethyr and saw her kill her last opponent, blood covering her face. Damon was confused for a second. Blood in a virtual world, how could this be.

The entire group was confused at the sight of blood on the virtual world, and then Xavier had a brilliant idea. "Wait, I have an idea as to why there is blood here," he proclaimed.

"I would love to hear this one," Aelita inquired.

"Artemis created this world, maybe when the Spartans get killed they actually spew blood because they are not meant to come back. Maybe the Spartans are in a limited supply because of their skills, and the reward for killing one is the blood spatter," Xavier explained.

"That actually sounds reasonable," Ulrich declared.

Damon heard this and walked over to Erethyr; she readied her falchions, preparing to kill this new adversary. Damon simply walked up to her, and dodged her attacks. He got right up next to her and hugged her arms to her sides, immobilizing her. The rest of the group was amazed at the balls that it took to do this. Damon then kissed Erethyr. Her body tensed up and then relaxed. She dropped her falchions and a dark pink smoke issued from them as they returned to scimitars. Both of them stopped glowing and just stood there, lips locked together. When Damon got out of this warm embrace, Erethyr looked down at her scimitars, covered in blood. She started shaking at looked at a reflection of herself in one of her scimitars, and screamed. She was freaking out at the sight of blood, much like Damon did to water.

"What's wrong," Damon asked, now very concerned at her reaction to seeing herself.

"Blood…someone else's…get it off of me…HURRY," she screamed, shaken beyond all belief.

Damon yelled at the captain of the Babylonians that had stood in awe at this battle, "GET SOME WATER, NOW!!!"

"Yes…right away." He ran off to get some water. He quickly returned and poured it over Erethyr, washing all of the blood off of her as fast as she could.

The rest of the group had ran up to them and William was the first to ask the question that had been on all of their minds, "What's wrong with her. She seems pretty badly shaken."

"I think that she might have hemophobia. She seems just as bad off as I do when I get water on me," Damon replied.

"A fear of blood," Aelita stated, "She seemed just fine while she was enraged."

"That is because she wasn't truly conscious of her surroundings. Didn't you notice how she tried to kill me," Damon explained.

"Wait, why do you remember everything that happened," Yumi asked.

"Because I was in a state of rapture. I was aware of everything that was going on around me, so much so that I instinctively knew how to stop her rage," Damon explained.

"How do you get into that state of mind," Ulrich asked.

"I think that it is my body trying to give me a second chance. But I can only do that when I get defeated in a rage. I think that when our secondary powers activate, Erethyr and I sort of change personalities," Damon responded.

"How so? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me," Xavier asked.

"I become more peaceful and I see to the core of the problem. Whereas she becomes belligerent and very bloodthirsty. But when she snaps out of it, her own phobia seems to remind her that it's still there," Damon explained to the best of his abilities.

"I hope that either she stops wigging out soon or Franz managed to stop Ares from attacking us," Odd declared.

"I think that goes for all of us Odd," Aelita declared.

Franz came back now and stated, "I talked to Ares. He saw that battle and decided that after the fight that all of you put up, you are deserving of the orb. He also saw what happened after his warriors were annihilated. He said that it was very touching that you teenagers, with all of those battle skills, could be that tender to one another after such a hard battle."

"Are you coming with us," Aelita asked.

"Yes, I think that the government might have stopped searching for me finally. But just to make sure, I won't be leaving the factory until I'm absolutely certain of it. Unfortunately, I think that now that I have a human form on Lyoko, I might actually become permanently virtualized if I enter the digital sea unprotected," Franz declared.

"Already working on that," Jeremie declared, surprising the entire group. They had forgotten all about him during their battle. "Materialization," Jeremie proclaimed as Franz Hopper left the virtual world.

The group went into their separate pods, and Erethyr was holding onto the green orb. They had allowed her to carry it in an attempt to calm her down, and it appeared to be working slowly. On the return trip to Lyoko, Damon was so worried about Erethyr's well being that he completely forgot that they were underwater. When they got to Lyoko, the quickly made their way to the dry dock and from there to the Core of Lyoko. Erethyr reluctantly let go of the orb as it circled around the Core. The three orbs were now circling around the core much making it look much like an atom. Once the third orb was in place, the three orbs put up four more shields; as if to protect themselves and reinforce the core itself.

"Wow! That is pretty amazing, don't you think," William asked.

Damon was trying to console Erethyr, "It's alright, all of the blood's gone now see. No blood no problem."

"How would you guys like a trip to the real world," Jeremie asked.

"I think that might be a good idea, Jeremie," Yumi declared and the group was devirtualized, three at a time.

On Earth, Erethyr was less shaken but she was still quiet. Damon was hugging her for comfort, and that seemed to get a reaction out of her. She hugged him back tightly, as if for support. When they got to the computer lab, Aelita ran up and hugged her father, a man wearing glasses, a black sweater, beige pants, and a grey beard/moustache combo.

"Daddy," Aelita stated, enjoying the embrace that she hadn't felt for twelve years.

"Aelita," Franz hugged her back. While the group had been on their way back, he had pulled out an ancient but well hidden bedding set. It looked like it hadn't been touched in twelve years, and it indeed hadn't.

"I think I'll be alright now," Erethyr said weakly.

"That may be the case, but I'm still going to see you to your room," Damon stated as gently as he could. Damon and Erethyr headed off to the school, leaving the rest of the group behind.

"Man, both of them have strong phobias. It is almost as though they are made for each other," William stated.

"William, that is unusually insightful of you," Yumi declared.

"What can I say? I have my moments," William replied.

"Do you want us to leave you alone with your dad," Jeremie asked.

"Yeah, we've got some catching up to do," Aelita replied, "I'll introduce you guys better tomorrow." With that, the bulk of the group went to the school while Yumi walked home, ending another exciting day in the life of the Lyoko warriors.


	15. Point of No Return

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. My ninja pigeons are now making an attempt, however…stupid ninja pigeons.

A/N: It is now the end of the third week of Damonic Rapture. After Chapter 13 I have yet to get any reviews, and I am starting to get disappointed again. I have even made Franz Hopper come back for all of you, but that doesn't seem like enough. So now I'm going to full wartime proportions. I have even brought Sissi into things for all of you Sissi fans out there, whoever the hell you are. Sorry about the lack of breaks like those you find in my other chapters. I can't get to the Edit/Preview screen for this chapter so I decided to make my own breaks. Please R&R, I have ninja monkeys now and they have been fully paid in bananas to kick your ass if you don't.

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It was the middle of the night, Franz Hopper was happily sleeping in the computer lab, unaware of what SAI was planning to do. The scanners suddenly started up and their doors opened, a tarantula walked out of one, a crab out of another, and a manta out of the final one. They took the freight elevator up to the main part of the factory and stood there waiting for more of them to come. They would wait for the rest of the night while they filled up the factory floor with their numbers. At six in the morning, their leader would come out of one of the scanners and join them as they made their way to Kadic Academy.

Everyone in the school was starting to wake up and start their normal routines. It was seven in the morning before Yumi arrived at the school gates to be greeted by her friends. Damon wasn't there yet, and her friends were mystified. That was when all hell broke loose. It started with a manta flying overhead.

"What is that," somebody said within earshot of the group. They looked up and saw this manta. They were shocked by the sight and looked at Jeremie while he pulled out his laptop and fired up the super scan.

"This is bad," Jeremie declared.

"Why hadn't your alarm gone off before," Aelita asked.

"Somehow, SAI managed to make the alarm silent. What's worse she activated four towers simultaneously. I wonder why it took four towers to materialize one manta. When you materialized your monsters you only activated one tower, Xavier," Jeremie declared.

"I only made up to four, so I only needed the one tower. This is bad," Xavier exclaimed as he realized what must have happened.

"What is it, Xavier," Erethyr asked.

"She must have brought her own personal army from Lyoko into the real world. This is really bad. Where do you guys keep your weaponry," Xavier asked, starting to panic slightly.

"We usually end up just picking stuff off of the ground and improvising weapons out of them," Ulrich proclaimed.

"Then we need to head to the equipment shed. That should have the most items that we can use as weapons," Xavier proclaimed as he headed of to the equipment shed, the rest of the group not too far behind.

When they got there the shed was being guarded by a tarantula. This is when an ambush was sprung. Two mantas swooped in on the group while many crabs come out of the woodworks, putting the entire campus into a state of pandemonium. There were children and teachers running everywhere.

"Things just got from bad to worse," Yumi stated, "We have to get to the factory. C'mon!" She turned around to head to their manhole cover in the forest and SAI was standing right behind her.

"There you are," she proclaimed, "But where's your little playmate? The guy who loves black and gets very mad. Oh, well. No matter. Crabs, I want you and a few of the mantas to scour the surrounding area for the last of the enemies." The monsters did as they were told. When they couldn't find Damon on the school premises, they headed out into the town to search for him.

"Hmmm, it looks like your little friend isn't here," SAI grinned, "I've always loved a good game of hide and seek. Of course, you already knew that, Xavier is it now."

"Yeah," Xavier stated anger crossing his face, "You always did love hide and seek. But as I remember it, you've never even beat me."

"Shut the fuck up, you insolent fool," SAI shouted, "I will find your little friend and then I'll kill you all! Take them to that building over there, and keep them there until the other one is found!" She pointed at the gymnasium and the tarantulas and mantas followed them in there. They knew that they wouldn't be able to escape right now. They looked at each other and nodded as the same thought crossed all of their minds. It was now all up to Damon to save the day.

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Damon had just woken up and was watching the news. He was shocked when he saw that there were monsters crawling all over Kadic Academy. In the background he barely saw his friends being led to the gym. "Shit, that means that I'm next on the list. Looks like I'm going to have to pull the weapons out of storage."

He rushed downstairs and his mom said, "Your friends are in trouble, aren't they."

"Yeah, mom. I need to get all of the weapons out of the attic. That is the only chance that we have of repelling these monsters," Damon replied.

"It's alright, I already knew that you were going to need them once I saw the news. Just be careful, you know how long those swords have been in our family," Mrs. Lerath stated.

"I know, the sword dates back to the first century B.C., the scimitar to the Crusades, and the buster blade to the Meiji Era in Japan.. Don't worry mom, if all goes well it will be as though they were never used," Damon stated.

"Just be careful," Mrs. Lerath proclaimed.

"I will mom, just wish me luck," Damon stated as he headed up to the attic. There he pulled out the swords, a bow with two quivers, four CO2 powered nail guns and twenty clips each plus eight handfuls of CO2 cartridges, and his own spiked fingerless gloves. He put the swords on his back. Then he put on the quivers, one over his shoulder and the other around his waist, before equipping the bow. He found a medium sized backpack and put the nail guns, ammo, and go juice in it. He slung this over his shoulder before putting on his gloves. He then donned a black cloak and headed downstairs.

"When do you think that you'll be back," Mrs. Lerath inquired, worry tracing her face.

"I'll be back before you know it, mom," Damon stated as he headed out the back door and proceeding in taking a long way to school that had him going through the park, dodging the monster patrols.

He was running through the forest, trying to hide among the leaves on the trees. A tarantula saw him. It opened fire on him, and he quickly set to dodging it. Before it could pull off ten shots, his hand had already punched the silver eye emblazoned on its head. The spikes on his gloves had dug deep into its head. Damon jumped back and watched the monster explode. He decided to book it before more monsters came to investigate what had just happened.

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SAI was standing on top of the science building. "If my pets don't find him soon, I'll have to start looking myself. Then this game of cat and mouse will be over. Maybe he'll come to rescue his friends. No, that would be idiocy. Why would one enter the lion's den knowing full and well what was waiting for him. He'll probably try to head for the factory and attempt to deactivate the tower. No, that couldn't be it. He can't deactivate towers without the help of either that pink-haired girl or Erethyr. I think that I should drop in on my enemies and learn their names. Yeah, that could be fun." SAI whistled and a manta few next to her. She jumped onto it and it took her down next to the gym. She jumped off and it waited there for her.

She entered the gym and was pleased to see just how many humans had been rounded up. Her enemies were separated from the rest of these weaklings, however. She walked up to her enemies and was pleased to see the other worms cringing before her. "Hello, I decided to drop by. I realized just how impolite it is to kill somebody without even knowing their names. Of course you already know who I am, but I came to hear what your names are."

"Why should we tell you if you're just going to kill us," Ulrich demanded.

"I already told you. It is impolite to kill somebody without so much as knowing their name. Now let's start with you, in the purple. What is your, name," SAI asked cordially.

Odd's skin crawled when she asked him his name. He stated, "My name is Odd. But Erethyr knows me as the purple pig with sweaty palms."

SAI responded, "Erethyr, I am surprised at you. Who knew that you had a sense of humor? Well, Odd. I'm pleased to of met your acquaintance. You have been a thorn in my side for quite some time. Now what is your name, you with the pink hair?"

"I'm Aelita. You knew my dad; his name is Franz," she replied.

"So, you're Franz's daughter. That's good to know. You with the glasses, I haven't seen you on Lyoko before. I have heard your voice, though; what is your name?" SAI inquired.

"I'm Jeremie, and you haven't seen me on Lyoko because I'm always running the super computer," Jeremie responded tersely.

"Now, now; temper, temper. I am impressed, being able to run the super computer so flawlessly at your age. You must be some kind of genius. Such a shame to have to kill you as well. I guess that it can't be helped, however. Now, you with the surly disposition, what is your name," SAI continued.

"My name is Ulrich, and you are going to go down. Just like every time you rear your head," Ulrich exclaimed.

"Big talk for someone in such a weak position. You are bold, however. I will give you that. Now, as for you. You look like you're Japanese, and you're kind of cute. I might just keep you as a pet. What is your name," SAI asked coyly, touching Yumi's cheek with her hand.

Damon got out of the forest and snuck up to the gym just in time to see SAI doing this. "Shit, I'm going to have to find some other way to get these to them. I can't just waltz in there with her in there. Innocent people might get hurt."

Yumi pulled away from her and declared, "My name is Yumi. And you will never have me as a pet. I will continue to fight against you until the last breath has left my body."

"Oh, well. It was just a thought. Now that I know all of your names, my captives, what is the name of the last member of your group?" SAI inquired.

"His name is Damon, and he's going to kick your fucking ass. BITCH," Erethyr shouted.

"Touchy. Well, I must go now. I have a world to conquer, but you will soon no longer be a part of it. Ta ta for now," SAI proclaimed as she walked off and exited the gym. The manta that had been waiting all this time for her took to the roof of the science building. She was going to rule over both this world and the virtual one, and she was going to do it from the building that had housed her enemies for so long. How ironic could she be to do something like this?

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"Alright, I have an idea. It's tricky, but it should work," Damon muttered to himself as he went to the principal's office. He looked around, trying to find a microphone that could be used to enact his plan. He quickly found it and a tape recorder. "Perfect," Damon declared as he started recording a message.

"…Hello, SAI. My, are you looking ugly today. Don't you know that silver is out this season. If you're looking for me, then look no further. I'm in the principal's office, waiting for you and your wee beasties," Damon said into the tape recorder. He put a pause at the beginning of the message so that he would have enough time to get away. He set up the tape recorder next to the microphone and turned on the mic while simultaneously pressing play on the recorder. He then quickly and quietly exited the office and made his way to where he has been before he got his clever idea.

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His message played over the intercom. SAI's usually expressionless face turned a shade of red as she shouted, "Manta to me!! Come my pets, we have an enemy to kill!!!" She headed off to the principal's office and half of the guards from the gym followed her.

"NO! Why would Damon do something as stupid as tell SAI where he was at! Is he trying to get himself killed," Erethyr shouted, crying into her hands.

"No, Damon's not that dumb," Xavier stated, "I found that out while I was controlling him. He has a plan, but can't make out what it is. At least the guard has decreased. We might have a chance of escaping through that window."

"I sure hope Damon's alright," Ulrich declared. Nobody had seen a black cloaked figure sneak through the window and make his way to the group.

"Did somebody say my name," Damon stated, startling the entire group.

"What are you doing here? Don't you know that SAI wants to kill all of us together," Yumi demanded.

"I know. That's why I brought all of you stuff to defend yourselves with," Damon declared as he started pulling stuff out from under his cloak, "I've got guns, ammo, and go juice for Odd, Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremie; a bow and two quivers for Xavier; a buster blade for William; an ancient, but still good, sword for Ulrich; and a scimitar for Erethyr." He handed all of the stuff to the appropriate recipients and divided ammo and cartridges between Odd, Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremie.

"Wow, thanks. You really came through for us," Odd declared as he readies his gun.

"Yeah, but what was up with the intercom thing," William asked.

"Yeah, you had me worried that you had gone and gotten yourself killed," Erethyr sobbed.

"Don't worry. I just played a trick on SAI so that I could lessen the number of the guards here and get you guys some weapons. But I think that we might have just been found out," Damon declared.

"Why," Yumi inquired.

"Because they're looking straight at us," Damon shouted as he started to dodge laser fire from the tarantulas in the room.

"We have to get everybody to safety," Xavier declared, firing an arrow at the monster and destroying it instantly.

"Are you kids trying to get yourselves killed," Principal Delmas demanded.

"No. We're trying to stop you from getting killed," Ulrich declared, emphasizing his point be slicing a tarantula in two.

"What do you kids think that you can do against these, these monsters," Jim demanded.

"We know how to destroy them. We're going to use that knowledge to save all of you," William declared, spinning around and beheading a tarantula.

"But why are you risking yourselves to save all of us," Sissi asked.

"Because that's what we do," Erethyr stated as she stuck her scimitar in the silver mark on a tarantulas head. She pulled the scimitar out and turned her back on her foe as it exploded.

"We're heroes," Odd declared happily as he shot a crab and made it explode.

"We've actually been saving you all for about two years now. You just can't remember because we made return trips to the past every time that it got really bad. We intend on doing that this time too," Jeremie declared, shooting six shots and finally destroying one tarantula.

"C'mon, let's not keep Lady SAI waiting," Damon declared as he headed out the door.

SAI was waiting for him, and she looked livid. Xavier soon followed and he saw the look on her face. "Wow, I don't think that I've ever seen you pissed off," Xavier declared.

"And you will never see it again. I'll make sure of that," SAI shouted as she took the shade off of her umbrella, revealing that it was both sword and shield.

At this time the rest of the group made it outside and saw that SAI was pissed. Aelita suddenly got a call from her father, "Hello."

"Aelita, this is Franz. I've just manipulated things using the orbs so that you and your friends can use your Lyoko powers on Earth. It will only last for about thirty minutes however. So use this time wisely. Also, tell Odd that I gave him his teleportation power back for just the time being."

"Thanks, daddy," Aelita said as she hung up, "Listen guys, we have our Lyoko powers for a little bit, including your teleportation Odd."

"What about me," Jeremie asked, "I never took the time to figure out what my Lyoko power was."

"That's why you have a gun Jeremie," Damon declared, firing up his Lyoko power. His bangs went up on the sides of his head, much like demon horns, and his eyes turned red. He was now enraged, and his enemies were fucked.

"Works for me," Yumi declared, readying her gun.

"Maybe we should take this somewhere else," Ulrich declared.

"Agreed," Xavier stated, "C'mon this way." He started heading off towards the woods and his friends followed.

"You're not getting away that easily," SAI shouted as she followed her enemies.

"They quickly made their way towards the edge of the woods closest to the factory. Ulrich shouted, "Triplicate." Now there were three Ulrichs where there had once been one.

"That was a good idea, now then Aelita. You are going to take Yumi, William, Jeremie, and Erethyr with you to the factory," Xavier stated.

"Why is that," she inquired.

"The sooner those towers get deactivated, the sooner we can return to the past. Now go, hurry," Xavier shouted as Aelita left with her group to deactivate those towers. SAI just laughed at them.

Damon's cloak was fluttering when he asked, "Why are you laughing?"

"Because I deleted that program, fools. Why do you think that I activated so many towers," SAI replied, laughing maniacally

"WHAT?! Then that means that," Odd started to respond.

"Correct. This time is for keeps," SAI laughed as she swung her sword at Odd.

Xavier shot an arrow and it plunged into her shoulder, making that arm useless. Ulrich and his clones started their attack at high speed, but SAI just defended herself with her shield while she pulled the arrow out of her shoulder. Silver smoke issued from it while it closed up. "Fools, do you honestly think that defeating me will be so easy? If so, then you're dead wrong," SAI shouted as mantas swooped down on them.

Xavier and Odd broke off from attacking SAI and started attacking the mantas. Meanwhile, SAI killed Ulrich's clones and was starting in on him. Damon started getting really pissed off. Smoke started to billow forth from him as he punched SAI in the gut as fast as lightning. She staggered back and the silver smoke issued forth from her wounds and they closed up.

Odd was teleporting on top of the mantas and shooting them so that Xavier would have to use fewer arrows. Franz had fixed the glitch in Odd's teleportation power so that he no longer left copies of himself behind. That is when the crabs started to come out of the woods. Their movements were slower than normal, however. "I think that Aelita managed to deactivate a tower guys. At least that's some good news in a sea of bad," Xavier declared.

"I'll take on the crabs," Ulrich stated, "You handle SAI, Damon."

"Sounds good," Damon responded in a demonic voice. Ulrich started to attack the crabs, leaving Damon to go toe to toe with SAI. "Guess it's just you and me now."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," SAI responded, grinning as she renewed her attack.

Damon punched her, but she blocked with her shield. The force of the punch still knocked her back about five feet. She was awestruck at the force of Damon's blow. Her left hand was shaking slightly from the impact. She looked up to see him coming in for another attack. This one connected, sending her flying into a tree, almost breaking it. Silver smoke issued from her fresh wounds, but they were closing slower than they did before. "Shit," was the only thing that she managed to say before she put up her shield to block another attack, this time she went through what was left of the tree.

At the sound of the tree breaking, all of the other combatants stopped fighting and slowly turned to see who had done what. They all saw SAI slowly getting up after having gone through the tree, her wounds healing. "I really don't want to get on his bad side," Ulrich declared. The crab that he was fighting bobbed up and down in agreement.

"I think that at this point, that's his good side," Odd stated. The mark of SAI on the manta he was currently riding's back grew wider at this comment.

"Then I, for one, **don't** want to get on his bad side," Xavier exclaimed. Everyone nodded in agreement, even the monsters.

"I have an idea, we place a wager. Someone from the loser's team has to touch Damon," Ulrich stated. The crab that he had been fighting reared up on its hind legs and held up the front two before crashing back to the ground.

"Double or nothing…alright I'm in," Xavier declared. Even the monsters looked at each other before agreeing to this wager. Then all of their fighting resumed.

Damon sauntered up to SAI. She made for a stab to his chest, and he dodged it. He heard a cry of pain from Odd as he hit the ground, hard. SAI laughed at Odd's misfortune, which only served to further enrage Damon. The smoke that had been billowing forth from him was now blood red, as were his eyes. He snarled at SAI, revealing elongated canines. Fear flashed across SAI's face as Damon reared back his right arm, gathering up strength. SAI put he shield up to block the blow, but Damon didn't care. He punched with every last ounce of his strength. Even though SAI had raised her shield, the punch still knocked her back about twenty feet-even through a tree. Her shield went flying and she looked at Damon with a face that showed just how afraid of him she was at that moment. She started to make a run for it. Before she could go ten steps Damon was already in front of her, fist raised.

"AAHHHHH," SAI shrieked as she got hit with another powerful punch. The smoke that was surrounding Damon had become jet black at this point. Before she could fly very far, Damon was already behind her. He played volleyball with SAI's body for two minutes, using his full strength with every punch, before slamming her into the ground. She went five feet into the ground before she came to rest. A cloud of silver smoke issued from this hole in the ground as SAI slowly got back up. She winced slightly before declaring, "Shit! I think that I might be in trouble…the second tower has just been deactivated."

Ulrich, Odd, and Xavier had destroyed all but two of their enemies. Now they were all just watching this battle, fearful of its connotations. "Does this mean that he has been holding back all this time," Odd asked.

"I think that it does. I know that if she were truly human, every bone in her body would be a fine powder-if that coarse of a grain. I believe that he is actually trying to kill her," Xavier examined.

Damon performed a mean uppercut and sent SAI flying into the air. He brought his hand back and waited for her to come back down. When she did, he punched her in the gut-looking her in the face. Her blood splashed on his face. He threw her aside like a rag doll while SAI held her stomach. Slowly, the silver smoke came from her stomach and she healed. She slowly stood back up, panting hard. She then stabbed Damon through the chest. He looked surprised as he fell to the ground, sword sticking through his chest. He pulled hard and it came out, but his demonic appearance dissipated. He was bleeding hard on the ground, and starting to look pretty faint. Then, a white smoke billowed out of his otherwise fatal wound. He stood up as his wound closed, and then he leveled a stare at SAI that would have stopped a rampaging bull.

"I don't intend on dieing anytime soon," Damon grinned, "you troublesome little bitch. Now that I have my wits about me, I will kill you-my way." SAI was taken aback by this comment, and didn't expect Damon to grab the arm holding her sword. He brought his other fist into her elbow, breaking it and forcing her to let go of her sword. He then bent down and picked her sword up.

"Bah, I've never really liked to use anything besides my own two hands," Damon spat as he threw the sword to Ulrich, who caught it and laid it across his lap. Damon then turned around to SAI and just grinned. SAI was cradling her arm, trying to get it to heal, but it wouldn't.

"Don't tell me she deactivated the third tower already," SAI exclaimed. She looked up and saw Damon cracking his knuckles loudly, right in her face. She winced, expecting the beat down that was about to come. When it didn't she looked up and saw Damon handing his gloves to Odd for a moment. "What are you doing," SAI shouted.

"I'm not out to kill right now. I'm kinda in a state of rapture just at the moment. I'd far rather just beat you into a bloody pulp than kill you straight out," Damon explained before walking up to her. That is when he felt something leave his body. Ulrich, Odd, and Xavier all felt it too. They looked at each other and nodded, knowing exactly what had happened. "And on the plus side, it looks like you're going to get your ass kicked in by a human with no powers."

"What do you me-" SAI started to ask before getting a fist in her face. She staggered back a few feet before looking up, seeing another fist coming at her. This one landed in her stomach, winding her. For the next three minutes, Damon continued to beat the shit out of her. At the end of this time, SAI was covered in bruises and dissipating. "I will get you back for this, mark my words…damon," SAI declared weakly before she completely disappeared.

The last two crabs looked at each other and looked as though they would have sighed if they had the ability to. They walked over to Damon and hesitantly touched his shoulders with their legs. "Huh," Damon turned around to see who had touched him and saw two crabs behind him. "What-" was all Damon could say before Ulrich and Xavier took them both out, "the fuck?!"

"A bet, we won. Two from the loser's team had to touch you," Odd explained.

"That's kind of fucked up, but let's get to the computer lab and see if what SAI said was true," Damon stated as the four of them went into the factory.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Twenty Minutes Earlier On Lyoko

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"Wow, Jeremie. I can't believe that you actually made the plunge during an attack," Yumi declared.

Jeremie was now wearing a white jumpsuit with blue streaks going from his elbows to his hands. He had blue circles on his palms, which he was now looking at. "I figured that I might be able to help somehow, now that we have Franz Hopper controlling the super computer," Jeremie stated sheepishly.

"You'll do just fine Jeremie. Daddy, do we have any idea what either his weapon or his power is," Aelita asked.

"Jeremie can shoot blue balls of energy from his palms, that is his weapon. He has the power to open wormholes into other regions temporarily, but that has a recharge time on it so it cannot be used very often," Franz responded.

"Well, that could be useful," William declared.

"Let's get these towers deactivated quickly, I don't want to know what would happen if we don't," Erethyr proclaimed as she headed off in the direction of the tower in the desert region.

When they got there, they saw very little resistance. There was only one megatank guarding it. "I think that this may just be too easy," Yumi stated.

"I agree, but we have to do this now," Aelita stated. She and Jeremie both charged up there energy blasts and fired them at the megatank. Their shots hit opposite sides of the megatank and it seemed to be vibrating. It then compressed in on itself before exploding.

"What just happened," William asked.

"It appears as though Jeremie and Aelita's energy blasts work on opposite wavelengths. As such, they are polar opposites of one another. When both of the blasts hit opposite sides of the megatank, its ends became attracted to one another with enough force to make it cave in on itself," Franz explained.

"Wow, you two sure do work great with one another," Erethyr declared in a congratulatory manner. Jeremie and Aelita blushed. Then Aelita made her way to the tower and deactivated it. When she was done she stepped out of it and their vehicles appeared.

"Thanks Franz," William proclaimed as they headed for the nearby way tower.

"I sure hope that that helped our friends," Erethyr stated.

"Yeah, they have got to have it rough actually fighting SAI. At least they have their powers so it shouldn't be too difficult," Yumi declared. They entered the way tower and used it to transport themselves to the ice sector.

"The tower's about one thousand meters to the north," Franz declared. The five friends went in that direction. In about five minutes they reached their desired location. This tower was slightly more heavily guarded. It had two tarantulas and a crab guarding it.

"Why don't you let us take care of this one," Erethyr declared.

"Yeah, we can't let you have all the fun," William added.

"HIYA," Yumi exclaimed as she threw her fans, destroying the crab. The tarantulas turned to them and opened fire. William and Erethyr advanced on them, blocking their laser fire with their swords. They quickly got in close enough to kill their opponents. William did an overhead slash with his sword and sliced it right through his tarantula's head, destroying it instantly. Erethyr was toying with her opponent, however. She sliced off both of its front legs before she embedded both of her scimitars into the Eye of SAI on its head. Aelita chose that movement to move in and enter the tower. She quickly deactivated it.

When Aelita came back out, Franz declared, "The next tower is in the mountain region. It is a long way from the way tower, however. It could take you a while to get there."

"Why don't I use my power," Jeremie offered.

"Your power is called 'Wormhole.' You have to activate the circles in your palms and make a circle in the air in order to activate it," Franz declared.

Jeremie did as he was told and shouted, "Wormhole!" A wormhole opened and on the other side the activated tower in the mountain region was clearly visible. William and Yumi were the first ones to enter. Then Erethyr entered. Lastly, Aelita and Jeremie entered, the wormhole closing behind them.

"Wow, that was pretty cool. You okay Jeremie," William asked. Jeremie was holding his chest and gasping for air.

"I'm alright. I'm just a little exhausted after using my power. I might not be able to fight for a little bit. Don't worry, I should be okay in a few minutes," Jeremie explained.

"We can handle this…" Aelita stated before looking at the scenery. The tower was completely unguarded, "Or maybe we don't need to…I'll just go enter the tower now." Aelita entered the tower and deactivated it.

"Okay, let's head to the forest region. That's the only tower that I know the coordinates of offhand," Jeremie declared. The group saddled up and rode their vehicles all the way to the way tower on the other side of the sector. The trip there took about ten minutes. When they got there they quickly transported themselves to the forest region. They exited that way tower and saw the activated tower nearby.

"This is going to be easy," William declared. When they got up there they saw that the tower was heavily fortified, and a battered and bruised SAI seemed to be reforming in the midst of her army.

"Move out," SAI declared, "Damon defeated me fair and square. I will back down this time, but next time we meet face to face in the real world I will kill him and all of his friends." The entire mass of monsters became wireframe replicas of themselves then vanished. Aelita ran to the tower and deactivated it.

"Ok, daddy. We've just deactivated the last tower. Time to launch the return to the past," Aelita declared.

"Yeah, about that," Franz stated.

"What's the matter," Aelita asked.

"I just found the ulterior motive behind SAI's attack. She deleted the return to the past program," Franz despaired.

"WHAT?! This is really bad. Now the entire school is going to know about Lyoko and try to deactivate it. I guess we're ready to come in then," Aelita stated. Franz materialized the Lyoko warriors and they made their way up to the computer lab, where the rest of the group was waiting.

"Well, the good news is that SAI has been defeated," Jeremie declared.

"The bad news is that if something important gets destroyed or something really bad happens here on Earth, we won't be able to return to the past any more," Xavier stated.

"Every cloud has a silver lining," Odd stated happily.

"What could possibly be good about not being able to return to the past," Damon demanded, he hadn't even noticed that Erethyr had been freaking out at the sight of blood on his face and cloak.

"Simple, now she can't get any stronger without alerting us immediately," Odd responded, pleased that he had seen that and nobody else had.

"You know what Odd," Jeremie proclaimed.

"No, what," Odd replied.

"You are still a creepy genius if I ever saw one," Jeremie declared, getting laughs from the entire group.

"Well, we have to return to school now," Ulrich stated.

"And I gots to return all of these weapons. I'll be at school after I swing by home," Damon declared, rounding up all of the weapons that he had brought and heading home.

The rest of the teenagers headed to the school, followed shortly thereafter by Damon. When they returned, they were met with cheers. "Whatever you guys ended up doing, it worked. The monsters just vanished a little while ago. It was fucking awesome," one of the students exclaimed.

"So this is why all of you are tardy, absent, or leaving to 'go to the infirmary' all the time," Principal Delmas demanded.

"Yes, sir. If you are going to expel us for keeping secrets from this school, then we can leave with our heads held up high," Damon responded.

"On the contrary, I actually want to thank all of you. I want to thank you the most, Damon," Principal Delmas declared.

"Why is that sir," Damon inquired, slightly confused but still wearing his cloak; while he was at home, Damon had washed the blood off of his face and cloak.

"If it hadn't been for your quick thinking, we might have all been severely injured, or worse," Principal Delmas replied.

"Well, it looks like one good thing came from all of this," Erethyr proclaimed.

"And what could that be," Xavier asked.

"Yeah, I'm curious as to what this good thing could be as well," William stated.

"Isn't it obvious? Now we don't have to make lame excuses for skipping classes. All we have to say is, 'Teacher, could I please be excused? I have to go save the world from a demonic A.I. now," and we'll be able to go to class and do just that," Erethyr explained.

"Like we will ever use that excuse," Yumi stated.

"Don't be such a naysayer. If we can save the world, then I'll be damned if I don't use that excuse at least once," Erethyr stated with conviction. Everybody within earshot laughed at this, the dawn of a new era of world-saving for the Lyoko group. An era where they wouldn't have as much trouble balancing school with Lyoko. An era with slightly less danger.


	16. The New Puppet

Disclaimer: I do no own Code: Lyoko…I ran away crying like a little girl when they sent Sissi after me…

A/N: Here we are at the beginning of the fourth week of Damonic Rapture, and still no new reviews. I hope you guys are going to like this one, I even threw in a couple of references from other stuff. A joke from Code: Phantom, it was just too good to pass up. If you are reading this MewmiC, I'm sorry for taking this joke from you, but I did make some changes to it so that it wasn't exactly plagiarizing. The other joke is straight from Gforce4's Just the Facts radio play. If you have heard it, you'll know it when you see it. Just like earlier, if you are reading this Gforce4, I am sorry for copying your joke, but it was just too good to pass up. I was trying to think up something that could possibly follow up that last chapter, and I think that I finally came up with something. I hope that all of you like it and send me reviews telling me any ideas that you guys have come up with that you might want me to use. Realize, I'm just playing things by ear here. The only chapters that I had planned out before I started writing were 1-3 and 5. Anyway please R&R, Sissi's still tailing me and I will come after you if you don't. Oh, no...RUN AWAY!!!!

* * *

Everyone in the group, save for Yumi and William, were sitting in their Japanese class. Most of the class was too bored to pay attention, the only exceptions being Jeremie, Aelita, Xavier, and Odd. Odd appeared to be taking notes, much to everyone's surprise. The other three were trying to figure out this language. 

"Odd, are you actually taking notes," Jeremie whispered, honestly surprised.

"Yeah, you know how it is. I need to have at least a few classes where I have good grades to make up for math, history, and science. Art and language happen to be those classes," Odd replied.

"Ah, Mr. Belpois. Since you seem to be so chatty, why don't you tell us the difference between the different Japanese alphabets," Mr. Miyamouri declared.

"Well, um…" Jeremie responded.

"Mr. Della Robbia, why don't you give it a shot? I somehow know that you won't be able to tell us the difference, but I might as well try. After all, the smart kid can't do it," Mr. Miyamouri stated, getting laughs from the entire class. Jeremie just blushed out of embarrassment.

"I'll be glad to," Odd declared, telling the teacher what the differences were. The sound of the entire classes jaws dropping simultaneously could be clearly heard. Even Mr. Miyamouri was surprised at how accurate Odd's statement was.

"That is…correct," Mr. Miyamouri stated, taken aback by the words actually coming out of his mouth in regard to Odd, "Um, I think that I need to sit down for a minute." He did, still trying to sort out what the hell had just happened. Thankfully for him, the bell rang and everybody was snapped out of the gravity of what had just happened before they filed out of the class.

The entire school was talking about what had happened before lunch time came. In the cafeteria Sissi said loudly, "I still think that Jeremie was just playing dumb and gave Odd the answer. That so couldn't have been Odd." Sissi laughed at her own joke. She glared at Nicolas and Herb and they started laughing with her.

"What, is it too hard to believe that I could actually have gotten a question right the Einstein didn't," Odd despaired.

"Well, yeah," Yumi declared, "I couldn't even believe it, until just now. That's amazing."

"Not as amazing as the entire classes' jaws dropping simultaneously," Damon declared.

"Or the look on Mr. Miyamouri's face as he told Odd that he was right," Ulrich added.

"Much less him having to sit down to cope with it," Xavier chimed in. The entire group laughed at this. Jeremie's laptop started beeping loudly.

Jeremie pulled it out and sighed. "Looks like SAI just activated a tower in the desert region. What could she be doing this time?"

"I don't have a clue, but we have to put a stop to it," Jeremie declared as he put up his laptop. The group got up and started to head out the door.

"And just where do you think that you are going," Jim asked in a commanding tone of voice.

"SAI just activated a tower, and we're going to go de-activate it," Xavier declared, putting an emphasis on 'de.'

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I just forgot that you kids are some sort of heroes. Kind of reminds me of my days in the Secret Service," Jim stated.

Before they walked out of the cafeteria, Erethyr said, "We don't want to hear you talk about it."

* * *

A silver specter came out of an electric socket inside of the science building. It didn't have too long a wait before it found a suitable target. The target was a boy with short black hair, brown eyes hidden behind frameless shades, a blue and white pearl snap shirt, blue jeans, and white Nike tennis shoes on. The specter attacked the boy. He didn't even have a chance to scream before the specter took control of his body. The boy rushed off towards the factory at an inhuman speed, leaving pixilated afterimages behind him. He got to the factory before the group could and went down the elevator to the scanner room. 

"What the-" Franz said in surprise as the computer screen before him started to show the virtualization process of an unknown person, "This can't be good."

* * *

"Good, you have arrived," SAI declared as this kid entered the virtual world. He had on a dusty brown jumpsuit, he was still wearing the same shades that he had in the real world, and a white cowboy hat. On either of his hips, he was carrying a revolver, an ammo belt around his waist, and a samurai sword slung over his shoulder. 

"What the fuck is going on around here. And why the hell am I in a room lined completely in silver," this boy asked testily before looking at SAI, "And why is it that I get the feeling that you have a silver fetish?"

"Before you become my servant, tell me what your name is," SAI asked, amused at the boy's comment.

"My name is Cid Jackson, and who are you," he replied.

"My name is SAI, but you can either call me Lady SAI of master," she responded as a silver mist enveloped him.

"never…" Cid started to say before he fell unconscious.

"Never say never," SAI laughed, "Now to start with your genetic manipulation." The scyphozoa appeared before her and wrapped its tentacles around the now limp form of Cid.

* * *

"Okay, now this is getting weird," Jeremie declared. 

"Yeah, how could SAI have gotten somebody here before us unless," Ulrich started.

"She was using one of my specters twisted into her own purposes. That uber-bitch," Xavier finished.

"This is really bad. What could she be using this kid for," Odd asked.

"I honestly don't have a clue," Erethyr stated.

"I think that I might," Damon declared.

"WHAT?!" everyone else shouted.

"I didn't want to worry you guys, but ever since SAI's last attack I've been having nightmares again," Damon admitted.

"Oh, no. That could be really bad. That last one of yours was prophetic, but we ended up getting a new friend out of the ordeal, and regaining an old one to boot," Yumi stated.

"What was it this time," Odd asked.

"I saw a silver mist enveloping a cowboy, and then he was changed like I was months ago. But this time, he was actually changing forms," Damon explained.

"Yeah, have I ever mentioned just how sorry about that I am," Xavier proclaimed.

"We don't have the time for that now. We have to get to Lyoko before SAI can do too much damage," Jeremie declared.

"All of you head for the scanners, I'll send all of you to Lyoko," Franz declared as the entire group headed for the scanner room.

Three at a time the entire group was sent to Lyoko; Jeremie, Aelita, and William were the last ones to arrive. "The activated tower is about a mile due southwest of your location. I'm sending you your vehicles now." All of the vehicles started appearing, and everybody hopped onto one except for William.

"Hey, what about me? Why don't I get a vehicle," William protested.

"I changed the programming in your sword just a little bit. You can now use your sword like a hoverboard, but you'll be completely defenseless by doing so," Franz responded.

"I guess that's pretty cool," William declared as he laid his sword on the ground and stepped on top of it. It floated up and he almost fell off it. He regained his balance and the nine warriors set off towards the activated tower.

* * *

"Ah, good. The change is complete. Now arise, my servant," SAI declared. 

"I serve only you, Lady SAI," Cid declared.

"Good, now let's take you to meet your new playmates. If you beat them, I might even deactivate that tower for them," SAI stated, laughing maniacally.

"As you wish, Lady SAI," Cid replied, getting into a combat stance with his hands on both of his revolvers.

"Ooh," SAI squealed with excitement, "I just love that name! Alright, to the desert region we go!" A silver mist covered both SAI and Cid as they were transported to the activated tower in the desert region, leaving the scyphozoa by itself. It looked around, as if to see if anybody was watching, before going into a corner and rubbing its tentacles against its dome as if it were trying to cry.

* * *

There was a massive army of megatanks, tarantulas, crabs, and mantas waiting for our heroes. Odd whistled at the sight of this, "Damn, it looks like SAI's pulling out all the stops on this fight. The only thing that could make this worse is if we also had to fight some sort of a samurai gunman." 

"Odd," Ulrich stated, "Don't tempt fate; you remember what happened last time."

"Jeez, I can't help it that Xavier attacked us with a pile of food," Odd groaned.

"Okay," Xavier stated, "You can stop making fun of me for my past mistakes now. We've got a big battle ahead of us. Does anybody have any bright ideas?"

"How about singing 'Break, Break, Break Dance," Odd asked.

"I said **good** ideas," Xavier retorted.

"Then apparently, you haven't heard Odd sing yet," Erethyr grimaced.

"Wait, I have an idea for taking out the ground troops, but it requires both you and Ulrich, William," Jeremie declared, "Tell me, do you get dizzy easily?"

"I have a bad feeling about this," William groaned.

After a few minutes of explaining the entire battle plan, Ulrich asked, "You ready William?"

"As I'm ever gonna be," William groaned. He gripped his sword and held it out, preparing for just how dizzy he was about to get. Ulrich grabbed the end of William's sword and started to run circles around him, betting faster and faster. Then he activated his Lyoko power and was running full speed, turning William into a very destructive top. He let go and William went streaking off towards the army. He easily sliced a wide swathe in the enemy army's numbers; he got from one end to the other, then came back again destroying even more of them before they figured out what the hell was going on.

When William stopped spinning, he clumsily shoved his sword into the ground and flopped down behind it so that it would protect him from the laser fire. "I think I'm gonna be sick," William groaned, putting his hand over his mouth as if he were about to throw up.

"Well, that's phase one. Now for phase two," Jeremie declared looking at Ulrich and Damon.

"This is going to hurt," Damon said as Ulrich grabbed him and started spinning him at full speed like he had William. This time, however, Damon was being lifted off the ground. When Ulrich let go, Damon went flying into the air yelling, "Looks like I'm blasting off again!" As he flew out of sight, there was a twinkle in the air.

"And now that phase two has started, it's time for phase three Aelita," Jeremie declared. Aelita got down on her knees and started singing. The terrain started to change, forcing all of the ground troops into a very small area where they couldn't escape.

Damon was coming back down in his enraged state, fist extended just like it had been when he smashed the dragon so long ago. "BONZAI!!! MOTHER FUCKERS!!!" Damon yelled at the top of his lungs. He hit the area that Aelita had created at full speed, making a wave of destruction originated from where he impacted. The impact of him hitting the ground from that fight devirtualized him, but it had served its purpose. Now they only had a fleet of mantas to worry about.

"Good job, Damon. Now we can take it from here," Yumi stated. She and Aelita jumped on the overwing to go up to their remaining enemies. Aelita was driving so that they could both attack. Odd and Xavier took the overboard for the same reason. Jeremie and Erethyr took the flying carpet so that at least one close range combatant could get in on the action. This left Ulrich and William on the ground to watch what was happening above them.

William got up off of the ground and picked up his sword, slinging it over his shoulders and walking up to Ulrich. He wiped his mouth and tried to get rid of the vile taste in his mouth from blowing chunks all over the digital landscape. "Man, why did I have to be the one to go in first," William groaned when he got up to Ulrich.

"That way, we could chorale all of the monsters into a small enough area to where Damon's bonzai move would kill them all. Given he got devirtualized in the process, but he took every last one of them done with him," Ulrich explained.

"Yeah, but being a human top wasn't cool," William sulked as they watched the battle unfold before them.

"Odd," Xavier shouted, "I can't get a good shot if you don't keep this thing stable enough for me!!"

"Sorry, it's either that or go down like Damon did," Odd declared, pointing down at the ground. They were a long way up; they could only just barely see Ulrich and William below them.

"On second thought," Xavier said fearfully, "why don't you keep on doing what you were doing."

"I thought as much," Odd grinned, aiming for one of the mantas, "LASER ARROW." He fired two arrows at the manta, hitting the Eye of SAI with both of them. The monster shrieked then exploded. "Sweet and sour manta chunk for everyone," Odd declared joyfully. Xavier just groaned at Odd's comment, shaking his head and holding his head. He readied his bow and fired four shots at three mantas. Only two of them managed to hit one of his intended targets. The one manta that he did hit rammed into another manta and exploded, taking the other one out with it.

"Wow, two birds with four stones. This sure doesn't show your archery skills like the battle on Earth did," Odd joked.

"Shut up Odd," Xavier shouted, letting another arrow fly. This one went through the mark on one manta and went farther to destroy two more. "As you were saying."

"Okay, okay; so you're archery skills aren't bad. But you wouldn't have taken that shot if it hadn't been for my charm," Odd declared.

"Okay, I will admit that. But why aren't you teleporting around. That could be really useful right about now," Xavier stated.

"Oh, yeah; I had forgotten about that," Odd admitted and teleported from manta to manta, destroying them with his laser arrows. Xavier was shaky for a moment but he took control of the overboard and was firing his arrows with far greater accuracy now.

Yumi and Aelita were wiping the board with their enemies. Yumi's fans were cutting wide swaths into the enemies' numbers, but they knew that they were doing next to nothing compared to Odd and Xavier. "Man, now Odd is just showing off. And Xavier isn't much better. Look at him; he's acting just like Uryuu off of Bleach. Showoffs," Yumi complained.

"What are you complaining about," Aelita said as she took down another manta with her energy blast, "We are getting the job done. It is always better to clean house before you stop your greatest foe."

"Yeah, but still. You just know that they are going to be boasting about how many mantas they have killed in this fight alone," Yumi argued.

"Not nearly as many as Damon took out with his bonzai move earlier," Aelita countered.

"True, but at least he doesn't boast about how many enemies he's killed, regardless of how many moves it takes," Yumi stated.

"At least we're almost done here," Aelita stated.

"True," Yumi agreed.

Erethyr and Jeremie weren't doing so well. Between Jeremie's lack of experience on Lyoko and Erethyr's inability to get close enough to the monsters to do some serious damage; they weren't killing very many mantas.

"Man, Jeremie; for being so smart, you sure can't figure out how to hit any of them," Erethyr groaned.

"I can't help it!! This is only my fifth time on Lyoko, remember," Jeremie declared hysterically as he fired another energy blast. This time he connected, destroying the manta instantly.

"And you finally hit one, after how many shots was it now…fifteen," Erethyr declared sarcastically.

"At least I hit one," Jeremie retorted.

"Hey, it's not my fault that I'm not skilled in aerial combat! I haven't had as much practice as Aelita or Odd has," Erethyr exclaimed.

"We don't have enough time to argue," Jeremie shouted, "Incoming!!!" There were four mantas inbound. They fired four lasers at the carpet, effectively pulling the rug out from under their feet.

"Oh fuck is this going to hurt," Jeremie shouted.

"You're telling me," Erethyr screamed as they plummeted to the ground.

William saw this and hopped on his sword so that he could fly up to meet them. He caught them about half way down before asking, "You guys just dropping in, or what?"

Jeremie and Erethyr were too thankful that William had caught them to groan at his bad joke. They both thought 'Even Odd has better taste than that…Oh, wait. No he doesn't,' however, as William set them down gently on the ground.

"Well, that went well," Ulrich stated.

"It would have gone better if the carpet hadn't been destroyed," Erethyr pouted.

"Looks like we're not out of trouble yet," William declared as a silver mist emerged from the battlefield. When it dissipated, Cid and SAI were both standing there.

The first thing that Ulrich said was, "Great, now-thanks to Odd's big mouth-we have a samurai gunman to beat. Wait, doesn't he look familiar?"

"Yeah, now that I think of it, he does," Jeremie declared, "I think his name is Cid, or something like that."

"Well, well, well; if it isn't the group that defeated me. Where's Damon," SAI inquired, looking around for him.

"He got taken out destroying the bulk of your monsters," Erethyr exclaimed.

"Oh, poo; and I wanted to test my new puppet against him. I guess that you will do in his stead," SAI declared maliciously.

"You'll never get away with this SAI, people in the real world know about you now. All thanks to your destroying the return to the past program," Ulrich declared.

"That is all a part of my plan," SAI mused, "Now why don't you show them what you can do, Cid."

"As you wish, Lady SAI," Cid declared as he put his hands on his revolvers.

"Ooh, I just love that name," SAI proclaimed excitedly.

Cid pulled out his revolvers and fired twelve quick shots, before emptying his clips and reloading. William and Ulrich took the front and blocked most of the bullets. One of them managed to get past both of them, however, and hit Jeremie in the head. He was instantly devirtualized.

"Jeremie, no…Jeremie," Erethyr bent over on the ground, tears lining her cheeks.

By now, the rest of the group had finished their aerial fight and was heading down to see what was going on down there. They saw one figure vanish and raced down there. Odd took the easy way and just teleported down there. What he saw, he didn't like. There was a samurai gunman before them and Erethyr was in tears on the ground. Jeremie was nowhere in sight. "Me and my big mouth," Odd muttered, "Erethyr, what's happening here?"

Erethyr wasn't able to answer his question, but soon found out what the trouble was. Cid had fired another round of shots and was reloading quickly. Again Ulrich and William managed to block most of the shots, but two got past them. These hit William in the chest, and he too was devirtualized. The rest of the group had gotten in close enough to be able to tell exactly what was happening. They saw William become a wire frame version of himself before he vanished.

"Who is this guy," Yumi asked.

"I think his name is Cid. Anyway, let's see how he does against my arrows. I wanna see him dance," Xavier declared as he began to rapid fire his arrows. Cid looked up to see this and gave a quick laugh. He slightly lowered his hat and aimed at the arrows. He started shooting and reloading, alternating between hands, until he caught Xavier in the nuts-twice. He bent over with a pained expression on his face as he too was devirtualized. Cid didn't stop there. He also devirtualized Yumi and Aelita with ease.

* * *

The scanner doors opened, letting Xavier tumble out, still holding his nuts. "He got you too, didn't he," Jeremie inquired. 

"Yep, he got me," Xavier replied in a high-pitched voice. William, Jeremie, and Damon all winced once they figured out where Xavier had gotten shot. That is when Aelita and Yumi stumbled out of their scanners.

"Fuck! That guy's a good shot," Yumi proclaimed.

"He didn't even break a sweat when he took us out," Aelita commented.

"We have to help him up to the computer lab," William stated, "Something tells me that he won't be able to walk properly for a little while."

"Why is that," Yumi and Aelita both asked, completely clueless.

"Ahem," William cleared his throat, pointing to Xavier to show them where he was holding himself.

"Oh," both girls said simply as recognition dawned on their faces. The five friends picked Xavier up and carried to the elevator so that they could all go to the computer lab.

* * *

He put away his guns before he turned to Ulrich, drawing his sword. "You bastard," Ulrich cried as he charged in at Cid. A gleam was in Cid's eyes as he rushed in too. They ran past each other, making their slices as they went. After a few seconds, their damages showed. Cid's right arm and leg started to crackle with energy, registering that he had gotten hit. Ulrich took a gasp and was devirtualized. Cid just adjusted his hat to look at his two remaining opponents. 

Erethyr had stopped looking at where Damon had been and gasped in horror to see what Cid had done. She and Odd were the last two warriors standing. Odd was in shock after what Cid had done to Ulrich so easily, but quickly recovered. He fired a few arrows at Cid, but he blocked them with ease. He casually walked up to Odd and batted away the laser arrows that he fired off in his direction. He got right up in Odd's face before he stabbed Odd in the gut. Odd was devirtualized with a look of surprise on his face.

Now Erethyr looked down at the ground as she slowly stood back up. Cid casually sauntered up to her, smirking. Erethyr proclaimed, "You took down my friends as though they were child's play," her head quickly snapped up, "I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!!!" Cid was literally blown away by the unseen force that exploded from her. Her eyes gained the symbol that Damon has while he's enraged. She started to glow a very angry pink and her scimitars grew into very ruthless-looking falchions. She stared down Cid with a look that made him take a step back.

She slowly walked towards him, here every step crunching as she sank a couple of inches into the ground. Cid was showing fear at first, but then he deided to tackle the problem head on. He put away his sword and pulled out his revolvers. He fired them and reloaded them as fast as he could until he ran out of ammo. He fired well over a hundred shots, but she hadn't gotten hit once. He put away his revolvers and got out his sword again. He decided to bum rush her. He didn't get ten feet away from her before she brought her falchions up and crashed them into the ground from overhead, sending a wave of her own angry pink aura at Cid. He was too surprised to dodge it, and was quickly destroyed in a burst of silver smoke.

Her enemy destroyed, she howled in pain as she reverted to her normal state and fell to the ground-panting. "Well, well, well; Cid didn't do too bad for his first run. Now with just a little more genetic manipulation, I'll be able to make him unstoppable," SAI giggled as she deactivated the tower. "Your reward for beating my puppet. But now, I'm afraid I must destroy you." She opened her umbrella and pushed the sword part into her back. Erethyr was devirtualized in a matter of moments.

* * *

"Man, he really worked you guys over," Damon proclaimed morosely. 

"He would have straight up murdered you if you had been there. In fact, SAI said that she wanted to test him out on you," Ulrich stated, holding his side.

"Well, I'd say that Xavier got the worst end of that battle," William stated.

"I didn't see, what happened to him and why is he holding himself, curled into a little ball," Erethyr asked.

"He got hit in the nuts, twice apparently," Damon explained.

"I'm afraid that I don't follow," Erethyr stated, sounding very confused.

"Oh shit that's right, she doesn't know very much about human anatomy," Damon declared, hitting his head with his palm.

"It is very simple," Aelita explained, "There's a girl part and a boy part. If the boy part gets hit, he will be curled up just like that and speaking in a high-pitched voice for a little while. Usually not thirty minutes, but that appears to be the case here. If the girl part gets hit, she will not feel anywhere hear as much pain."

"Let's see how you feel after getting shot in the nuts twice," Xavier exclaimed in a still high-pitched voice.

"Oh, I get it now," Erethyr declared, "So if I do this, I can take down any guy." She elbowed Damon in the nuts and he assumed the same position that Xavier was in. "Cool!"

"Hey, how's it going," Xavier asked in a high-pitched voice.

"Oh, I've been better, and you," Damon asked in his high-pitched voice.

"I've been better," Xavier proclaimed painfully, getting laughs from the entire group.

"Yes, but if you do that to enough guys, they're going to start to beat the shit out of you to stop that," Yumi declared.

"Oh, sorry about that," Erethyr blushed, causing even more laughter to occur.

"Well, after these two have recovered," Ulrich declared, indicating the two on the floor, "We should really be heading back to school."

"Agreed," Odd said as they waited about another five minutes for Damon and Xavier to get over their pains.

"I think that we're good now," Xavier stated as he got up.

"Me too," Damon declared as he got up. The entire group headed over to the elevator, and left the factory to head back to Kadic Academy.

* * *

They arrived in time for the end of lunch, they sat done to finish eating when Odd said, "Do you remember when you took over Sissi, Xavier." 

"How could I forget, that had to be the most disgusting thing that I had done while I fought against you guys," Xavier declared. Sissi heard her name and started to walk over to the group. Everybody but Odd saw this.

"I mean, the idea was good; but the way you executed it was really pathetic. It was so painfully obvious that she was possessed. On that day Sissi was so whiney, arrogant, conceited, and overall just a royal pain," Odd declared.

"I have no clue what you were talking about, she was possessed on a great day," Jeremie stated, trying to alert his friend to Sissi's presence while the rest of his friends ate, "I have no clue what you are talking about."

"Ah, whatever. I doubt Sissi will mind," Odd stated boldly.

"I'm standing right here," Sissi exclaimed.

After a short pause Odd said, "I still think you're a royal pain."

"Done. Done," Yumi and Erethyr declared, one right after the other, having just finished their food.

Sissi slapped Odd, and Damon said, "Done." He was done eating too.

"Ow," Odd stated matter-of-factly. Sissi stormed off and the entire group was laughing at Odd's misfortune.


	17. V for Vendetta

Dislciamer: I do not own Code: Lyoko…but I will be starting my attacks again soon now that I have gotten away from Sissi.

A/N: Hooray! It is now chapter 17 and I have gotten a new review from way back in Metal Madness (Chapter 5). This one said that I do need to work on describing the surroundings, but I am doing a more than decent job with the dialogue. This is the kind of review that I've been hoping for. Someone that could tell me how to improve my skills, not just how telling me awesome this story is. Now then, some of you non-reviewers may be wondering why I'm adding yet another original character into the mix. I needed for SAI to have a new puppet, and no one from the show would do. It's as simple as that. I might not be able to post my usual five chapters this week because I started reading a lot of other fanfics and I'm getting too distracted by them. Now on to the story. Please R&R, if you don't I will keep you awake all night long with fruit punch.

* * *

"Now just to tweak his genes again," SAI muttered as she sent the scyphozoa to work on the still unconscious, but now bound to an operating table, form of Cid. She was manipulating the DNA of his virtual essence in the same silver room that Cid had first appeared in. After she was happy with the amount of change to his DNA, and thus his Lyoko form, she made a carbon copy of him with a cloud of silver mist. 

"Yes, you will do nicely," SAI stated coolly.

"Anything for you, Lady SAI," the newer Cid stated, bowing before her.

"Ooh, I just love that name!"

* * *

"I just wish I knew why SAI decided to take a new puppet after waiting this long," Jeremie shouted. 

A librarian shushed him. They were in study hall in the school library, with bookshelves lining the walls and extending from nearby the extra long table where all of the students in the Lyoko gang's classes were sitting. Most of the students were trying to either study or gossip about crushes, who was dating who, or the Lyoko group.

"Obviously, after we kicked her fucking bitch-ass in the real world, she decided that she needed somebody else to control," Damon declared.

"Yeah, she must have decided that letting me go was a bad choice," William agreed.

"Well, you did get defeated a lot more often as her flunky than as a part of our group," Xavier commented.

"I was defeated all that much," William protested.

"You were defeated and we were able to deactivate the tower every time, William," Yumi stated.

"Well, since I've been back, the only time that I've been defeated was by that Cid guy," William declared.

"We were all defeated by Cid," Jeremie proclaimed.

"Not I," Damon protested.

"Oh, yeah; you were defeated by the ground," Aelita stated, causing laughter all around them.

"At least I took all of the remaining ground troops with me," Damon argued.

"All right, I'll give you that one," Aelita laughed.

"Actually, I wasn't defeated by Cid either," Erethyr mumbled.

"What did you say," Odd asked in astonishment.

"I said that I wasn't beaten by Cid. I think that I'm also starting to remember what happens when I get pissed in Lyoko," Erethyr stated, holding her head.

"That means that someday soon you might just be able to control your rage," Damon commented, sounding very pleased at this news, "What happened after Odd got devirtualized?"

"I can't remember too well, things were grey and blurry instead of just straight black. I do remember blocking constantly while moving forward though. I saw a form coming at me and I brought my weapons overhead and the crashed into the ground. The color I saw looked almost pink and it went straight for him. Then everything went into color. Cid was nowhere to be seen. SAI then defeated me," Erethyr explained, unsure of her own explanation.

"At least that's better than nothing," Ulrich stated, confused at her explanation.

"Why could you only see grey blurs," Xavier asked.

"That is my forte, so I'll answer that question," Damon stated, "When someone enters their enraged state, the world loses all color to them. Until you start learning how to control your rage, you will only see black. As you learn more about how to control your anger, however, you start seeing blurry shapes. When she can completely control her anger, she will be able to see the shapes clearly-minus the color."

"What about you? What happens to you when you enter your rapture state," Yumi asked.

"I'm in a different state of mind. I can only reach it when I get defeated by enemy attacks while I'm enraged. The state of rapture depends purely upon the state of rage I was in when I was defeated," Damon explained, "I can see in color while I'm in rapture form, but I still keep all of the strength that I was in while in rage form."

"It just gives you a second chance in other words," Ulrich stated.

"In technicolor," Odd chimed in.

Damon laughed at Odd's joke, "Yeah, it does. But since it isn't Erethyr's true Lyoko power, she might not be able to reach the rapture state."

"Oh well; just as long as I will be able to remember what happens when I get pissed I'll be all right, the sooner the better," Erethyr proclaimed.

The bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day. "So, what are you going to be doing for your history assignment, Damon," Erethyr asked as they walked hand in hand.

"I was thinking about bringing one of those swords that I brought when we had to defeat SAI here in the real world," Damon declared.

"Well, that will be interesting to learn a little bit more about your family's history," Erethyr replied.

"Yeah, let's just say that this is going to get interesting," Damon stated.

"Um, you do know that the weather forecast predicts rain for tomorrow, right," Erethyr stated.

"…FUCK!!! WHY DOES THERE HAVE TO BE RAIN," Damon yelled.

* * *

"Good, now that I have trained you in the use of your power, we shall attack tomorrow," SAI declared. 

"At what time, my mistress," Cid inquired.

"Say…noonish," SAI stated.

Cid grinned, "I live to serve, Lady SAI."

"Ooh, I just love that name," SAI proclaimed, closing her eyes and squealing with delight.

"You'll never get away with this, bitch," the real Cid proclaimed.

"I already have," SAI stated, grinning evilly.

* * *

The next day it was indeed raining, but Damon was really waning to show off at school that day. He was busy putting on everything he could think of to keep himself from getting wet. 

"Poncho, check; Fishing waders, check; Rubber galoshes that reach to the knee, check; Water proof jacket, check; Dish washing gloves, check; Paintball mask, check; Swimming cap, check; Alright, that's everything that I need to keep myself from getting wet. Nothing's going to stop me from going to school today, not even hydrophobia," Damon exclaimed.

Yumi had decided to stop by his house with two umbrellas and had something to say before she fell over laughing, "You forgot about one thing."

"What! What could I have forgotten," Damon asked, looking frantically while Yumi put a blindfold over his face.

"This way you won't even be able to see the water," Yumi stated, "Good news is that the rain should be letting up by lunchtime."

"Time is merely an illusion," Damon stated, then decided to add, "Lunchtime, doubly so."

Yumi laughed at this, "Alright, let's get you to school." With that the two friends went off to school, with Yumi leading the blindfolded Damon away from danger. People were laughing at the ridiculous outfit that Damon was wearing. When they got to the school, he only received more laughter from his outfit.

"Damon! I was worried that you wouldn't show up until after the rain was gone," Erethyr exclaimed going up to hug him.

He returned the warm embrace before saying, "I wouldn't miss history today. I even brought my history project."

"I would ask about your get-up, but I know about your little condition," Ulrich stated.

"You would look great for my next video, _Break, Break, Break Dance Remix_," Odd exclaimed. The entire group groaned.

"Let's just get inside so that I can take this off. All of my classes for the first half of the day are in the same building, so I shouldn't have any troubles there," Damon declared as he headed off to the History and Languages building. The rest of the group decided to follow him there, even though history was the only class that he shared with them the entire day. Even Yumi and William had been allowed to sit in on Damon's presentation that day. They had been very eager to learn something about his family history.

Their classes went by as per usual that day, until history. The entire class was eager to hear Damon's presentation.

"Today, I'd like to show all of you something that you might have seen before," Damon stated, pulling out the ancient Babylonian sword that Ulrich had used in fight against SAI. There were many oohs and ahs at the sight of this sword.

"This sword has been in my family for over two thousand years. It dates back to an ancient Babylonian warrior named Athem in the second to first century B.C. against those that would destroy Babylon. The legends all say that he had special abilities given to him by the gods themselves. But that just wasn't enough. Babylon did indeed fall, but not without a fight. The war to save Babylon lasted for decades, my ancestor was among the last to fall. He gave his sword to his only son and told him to run from the land, saying that his spirit would protect him and his family from any danger. That man's name was Bectan. He ran to far away lands indeed. The sword fell away from the history books, as did my family. But my family has resurfaced in the history books with other swords throughout time. You have all seen those two weapons. One was the scimitar that Erethyr wielded. The other was the buster blade that William used. And I'm certain that this recent battle will make its way into the history books, bringing the weapons, and those that wielded them, into remembrance for all time."

The entire class clapped at Damon's presentation. They were all impressed by the weapon and how it applied to both the past and the present.

* * *

"It's time, you ready," SAI proclaimed. 

"I'm always ready to serve you, Lady SAI," Cid proclaimed.

"All right; the tower is now activated and I'm ready to send you into the real world," SAI stated, sending Cid to the scanner room.

When he left SAI giddily exclaimed, "Ooh, I just love that name!" She sounded like she almost had an orgasm. The real Cid just shook his head and continued to try to break free.

The fake Cid emerged from the scanners in his normal human form and made his way up to the ground floor via the elevator. He ran through the forest all the way to the school.

* * *

Jeremie pulled out his laptop as soon as it started beeping and Aelita's cell phone started ringing. "Guys' we have trouble," both of them said simultaneously. 

"What's wrong," Damon asked.

"SAI has just activated a tower and sent Cid into the real world," Aelita declared.

"We have to get there, now," Yumi proclaimed. They all rain out into the rain, except Damon.

"Why aren't you going with them, Damon," Sissi asked, "Afraid of a little bit of water." The entire classroom started laughing. Damon just hung his head in shame as the group entered the forest. That is when Cid emerged and changed his form into that of a Spartan.

"What the hell," Herb yelled and Damon's head snapped up. He saw Cid running straight towards him. He picked up the sword and swore under his breath.

"Everybody, get the fuck out of here, I'll try to hold him off," Damon shouted. Nobody argued with him and ran in the opposite direction. Cid destroyed the wall in between them and tried to bring his sword in to behead Damon. Damon blocked the attack with the sword and kicked Cid away. Cid grunted in pain and held his stomach. Damon merely held a fighting stance, sword in hand. "I fucking hate to use a weapon, but I'll make an exception for you!"

Damon came at him and went for a stab to the gut. Cid dodged the attack and tried for a stab of his own. Damon ducked and tried to slice his cockles with his long and shiny blade. Cid blocked the attack again and the two jumped away from one another; each was trying to find a weakness in the other.

"Lady SAI told me that you never used anything other than your fists. She won't be pleased to know that her intel was wrong," Cid stated.

"I don't like to use anything other than my fists. If some crazy bastard comes at me with a sword, however, you better bet your ass that I'll pick up a weapon," Damon responded.

The two enemies just stood there staring at each other, waiting for the right time to strike.

* * *

The entire group was in the forest sector within Lyoko. "The tower is directly to the east. Be careful, SAI is there with some of her pets," Franz declared. 

"All right, thanks Franz," Odd said as they made their way to the activated tower. They were there in a matter of minutes. SAI was waiting there for them with twenty tarantulas.

"I don't think that top trick is going to work this time," Jeremie stated. William let out a sigh of relief.

"Just as long as my nuts aren't in danger, I'll fight this evil psycho-bitch," Xavier declared. The entire group laughed at Xavier's understandable comment.

"So, all of you have come to play. Where's Damon? Don't tell me he stayed behind to play with my toy," SAI inquired.

"Oh, no! Damon's going to be facing Cid all by himself, someone's going to have to go back," Erethyr stated, a faint angry pink aura already starting to become visible.

"Now, now; just because your boyfriend's about die doesn't mean that your temper needs to flare," SAI taunted. This threw Erethyr over the edge. The first form of her rage showed itself. She launched herself at SAI and her pets. She got hit with five laser blasts and destroyed three enemies before being devirtualized.

As soon as she exited the scanners she was running over to Damon's house to retrieve the scimitar.

Xavier was the next to fall, but not before taking out five more tarantulas and even hurting SAI a little bit. When he exited the scanners he chased after Erethyr, instinctively knowing where she was headed.

* * *

They quickly got to Damon's house and told his mom what the situation was. She allowed them to go get the weapons that they had used last time and they left. They headed towards the school as the rain started to dissipate. 

When they got there they saw that a great battle had been taking place. Many windows were in shambles on the ground floor of the history building. Damon was now grinning, despite his injuries. There was a pool of blood beneath him and Erethyr stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of it. Xavier readied his bow to fire at Cid.

"Sun's out," Damon declared, "Rules changed." He ran at Cid, his sword glinting in the sunlight. Cid just grinned at slashed at Damon's left leg. Damon didn't manage to dodge it entirely with a back flip and collapsed onto the ground. Xavier let his arrow fly, hitting Cid squarely in the shoulder of his right arm.

"Take that, vile scum," Xavier spat.

Damon realized just how much trouble they were really in. "Athem, help you descendant in his time of need," he cried, holding the sword in the air. The sword started to glow an eerie red. This aura extended to Damon as he closed his eyes. His hair flew up into a familiar position and his eyes opened suddenly, revealing that they had turned red. "And now, you DIE!!"

* * *

"Why are you doing this, SAI," Jeremie asked, "Why are you trying to kill us and especially Damon?" 

"You stopped my plans of world conquest, and Damon kicked my fucking ass-even after I started begging for mercy. If you honestly think I'm going to let that slide, then you aren't that brilliant-dumbass," SAI shouted as more of her tatantulas attacked.

"I'm afraid that I have to be the barer of bad news kids," Franz announced, "I have Xavier on speakerphone and the battle with Cid isn't going all that well."

"That has to be the understatement of the year," Xavier proclaimed, his bow twanging could be heard in the background.

"What's going on," Aelita asked, destroying two tarantulas. SAI just summoned more to fight by her side.

"Erethyr is locked in fear at the sight of blood. I think that Damon was right in his guess at her hemophobia. Anyway, Damon used the power held within the sword and it looked like he entered his rage form. With his newfound strength he chopped off Cid's left arm and put a deep gash in his left leg," Xavier declared hurriedly as he fired off another couple of arrows.

"That doesn't sound so bad," William stated as he started spinning around and destroying tarantulas left and right. SAI decided to stop making more of them.

"It gets worse. After doing this, the sword drew back the strength that it lent him and he barely managed to escape death from Cid's attack. Instead of getting cut in two, he had a large gash on his front. ERETHYR DO SOMETHING!!! DAMON COULD DIE IF YOU DON'T HELP HIM!!! That is when I decided to call, he's bleeding badly; but he's staying in this fight. He wants to see it through to the very end," Xavier continued while firing arrows, "Oh FUCK no!"

"What just happened," Yumi asked frantically, throwing her fans at SAI. She dodged them with ease.

"He just changed his form quickly and healed every last bit of damage he had been dealt. Including his lost limb. We would be really appreciative if you guys could deactivate the tower right about now," Xavier declared hysterically, "COME ON ERETHYR!!! DAMON'S GOING TO DIE!!!" The sounds of shaking could be heard over the phone.

"…damon…" Erethyr mumbled under her breath.

"GUYS, HURRY!!! WE CAN'T HOLD HIM OFF MUCH LONGER," Xavier shouted as he hung up the phone.

With this dire news, the group kicked it into overdrive. They quickly defeated all of SAI's monsters, and were now all descending upon SAI herself.

"We're going to stop you before you can kill Damon," Ulrich shouted.

"Yeah, if he's gone there will be nobody left to laugh at my jokes," Odd chimed in firing laser arrows at SAI. She merely opened her umbrella and blocked the projectiles. She then separated her umbrella into the sword and shield, preparing to meet her attackers head on.

* * *

Erethyr had snapped out of the fear that had been gripping her mind, and was now pissed off. She charged into battle in an attempt to save Damon. Damon's natural strength was waning and his dodging skills were slowing. He was slowly taking on more and more damage. Erethyr sliced off Cid's right leg and right hand. Cid simply laughed in her face and grew new ones. He never expected the arrow to his throat. 

Cid stumbled back, clutching at his throat. Damon and Erethyr saw a golden opportunity and attack him. Cid had been waiting for this and attacked them. Erethyr managed to get away from the attack, but Damon wasn't so lucky. Damon buried his sword in Cid's forehead, but in turn got hit with the hilt of Cid's sword. Damon went down, bleeding on the ground. Xavier fired another arrow into Cid's heart as Erethyr plucked Damon's sword out of his forehead. Xavier called 911 while Cid was trying to reform. Unfortunately, Erethyr got out of combat mode and stared in horror. She couldn't move. The ambulance was on its way, but Xavier was afraid that it might be too late.

The remaining group was fighting a losing battle on Lyoko. Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich had been devirtualized. William was on the defensive. Jeremie and Aelita were trying to get around so that they could use their polarity trick. Just as SAI was about to finish off William, she was racked with pain on both sides. She looked to either side and saw blue energy on one side and pink on the other.

"Well, fuck; this can't be good," SAI declared before she started to scream in pain. She imploded with the full force of Jeremie and Aelita's attacks.

"I will never get tired of seeing that," William proclaimed as Jeremie helped him up. Aelita ran into the tower. She floated up to the second platform and put her hand on the blue screen that appeared in front of her.

* * *

AELITA

* * *

Cid got up and ignored Erethyr. He sauntered up to Damon and brought back his sword, intending to finish off his adversary. The ambulance could be heard getting closer.

* * *

CODE

* * *

The ambulance pulled up just in time to see Cid move in for the kill. He went in for a final stab, to kill Damon once and for all.

* * *

LYOKO

* * *

The tip of Cid's sword only just barely managed to pierce Damon's flesh as he and his dismembered limbs all pixilated and he vanished. The ambulance rushed in to help Damon. They put him onto a stretcher and took him into the ambulance. They asked Xavier for a way to contact Damon's family. He gave him their phone number and the ambulance took off, heading towards St. Mary's Hospital.

The group quickly got to the battleground, surprised to see just how much blood there was on the ground. What they did expect, however, was Erethyr's expression of abject horror. They took her away from the sight of blood and tried to push dirt over it so that she wouldn't freak out every time she went outside. Xavier even went so far as to clean the blades before sheathing them.

"Man, that must have been quite some battle," William stated.

"You have no idea. I'm just surprised that Damon didn't collapse sooner than he did," Xavier responded.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't much help in the battle. I just saw all of that blood and locked up," Erethyr started crying into Xavier's shoulder. He had an expression on his face that told everybody just how shocked he was before he tried to soothe her by rubbing her head.

"How badly hurt is he," Aelita asked.

"Let's put it this way. If you had deactivated the tower any later, there would have been no need to send Damon to the hospital," Xavier declared. The entire group's reaction was that of shock.

"Things weren't that bad when you called, were they," Yumi asked.

"No, not quite; they only got that bad when Damon started to get exhausted from the loss of blood," Xavier replied.

"We have to visit him," Odd stated.

"Not now, he's probably in intensive care. I'm pretty sure that most of that blood, save for two pools, was his," Ulrich stated.

"And you'd be right. From what I can tell, they only took the battle outside once it stopped raining," Xavier responded.

"Maybe he'll be out of IC tomorrow," Jeremie stated hopefully.

"Maybe, but we've got to return these weapons to Mrs. Lerath," Xavier declared, "I'll be doing that with Erethyr right after school."

School was solemn that day; the entire school had seen what had happened. Everybody was worried about Damon's condition. During last period, Erethyr's phone rang. She immediately picked it up after seeing the number.

"Hello! Have you seen Damon yet," Erethyr asked hysterically, the teacher was about to confiscate her phone but after hearing this he decided against it, "Oh, is it really that bad…I see. Sure, we'll come by after school. We needed to return the weapons anyway. Okay, see you then." She hung up the phone.

The entire class asked her the same question, "Is he alright?"

"Not quite; he just got out of intensive care, but they think that he might be in a coma. He had quite the trauma during that battle. He had massive internal injuries, not to mention the external ones. His body is going to need a lot of time to recover. They have no idea when he's going to wake up," Erethyr stated solemnly. A dark cloud hung over the entire class. The teacher decided against going on with his lecture and let his class out early. The Lyoko group gathered up all of Damon's things before heading over to his house.

* * *

Once there, they returned everything that wasn't theirs and the entire entourage made their way to the hospital. Damon was sleeping, but even under his hospital gown they could see his battle scars. Erethyr was weeping at his bed while the rest of the gang paid there respects. 

Xavier stated, "You fought bravely, Damon. I know that you wouldn't have wanted to go down any other way. With the way you fiercely fought to protect the school, nobody else got hurt. Listen to me, I'm just rambling now. If you can hear me, I just wanted to say, thank you. We all owe you a debt."

"We're going to need security teams in the room at all times," Jeremie was telling the nurse.

"Understood, any special weaponry we need to have," the nurse asked.

"High-powered tazers would be a good start," Yumi stated.

"Just how powerful," the nurse asked hesitantly.

"Powerful enough to stun a bull elephant," Ulrich declared.

"Why that powerful," the nurse asked, shocked.

"The guy that did this will come back to finish the job. Damon has had a lot of combat experience on the streets, probably the only reason why he wasn't killed right away," Xavier declared, "From what we've heard, he can change form at will, so we're going to need some sort way to be able to tell the difference between him and say, one of us. Most likely, he's going to try to get in close to him as either Erethyr, myself, or his parents. That's what I would do at least, and SAI has a tendency to copy my ideas."

"Alright, after what you kids have done to save this town in the past we should be able to get a professional security team here fast," the nurse said, "I'm sure that anyone would jump at the chance to protect a national hero. We'll tell you when we've gotten the team together." The nurse immediately left to make the calls.

"We shouldn't leave his side until the security teams arrive," William offered.

"Yeah, that does seem like a good idea," Odd said, even he was completely bummed out after Damon had been taken out of the fight.

"We've got to see if we can recreate the return to the past program. It may be our only chance to avoid stuff this bad from happening again," Ulrich stated.

"At least now we have more people on our side without it," Jeremie stated.

"Yeah, but we didn't need other people when we had it. If things got this bad, then we could just rewind time so that we wouldn't have to deal with it again," Ulrich objected.

"You're forgetting about one thing," Xavier stated darkly.

"What?! What could I possibly be forgetting," Ulrich yelled in outrage.

"That worked on me because I didn't exactly have a vendetta against any of you," Xavier explained, "SAI has a vendetta against Damon. Even if we did return to the past, not only would she get stronger, but she'd do the exact same thing over again. The second time around she wouldn't be as sloppy and would kill one of us. She may be a copycat sometimes, but she is determined to kill Damon. She won't stop until she does."

"Xavier's right," Yumi stated, "She seems to have it out for Damon. Erethyr escaped from that fight unscathed. Instead of killing her when she freaked out again, Cid went straight for Damon. SAI won't quit unless he is dead."

"I'm sorry, Ulrich," Odd stated, "I have to agree with them. You have never quite been the best judge of character."

"I see your point," Ulrich conceded, "But I just can't take sitting on the sidelines like this."

"Understood, right now what we need to do is to find out where SAI is keeping Cid's virtual essence. If we can get him back then SAI will have a very powerful enemy," Jeremie stated.

A few hours later a security team arrived. They were fairly muscular men in black suits with shades. They had what appeared to be tazers in their hands. The group guessed that the tazers must have the power level that they had asked for. They paid their last respects to Damon before heading out.

"Fools! Do they honestly think me too weak to take out a few measly guards," SAI yelled.

"They must, because you are just a psycho-bitch," Cid shouted.

"Silence, human. If I want your meaningless opinion, I'll give it to you," SAI shrieked as she sent electricity coursing through Cid's body.

Cid cried in pain before falling unconscious again. "Now that you're unconscious again, let's continue the experimentation…BWAHAHAHAHAHA," SAI laughed maniacally. The scyphozoa loomed in and wrapped its tentacles around Cid, altering his DNA yet again.


	18. Hospital Blues

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. My army of robotic hippie monkeys is trying to change that however.

A/N: You smell that. It's called chapter eighteen. And what a glorious smell it is. Hi, y'all; I'm glad to see that you have made it this deep into the story. I know what some of you are thinking: 'Why did you put Damon into a coma?' The answer is very simple; he was getting to the point where it felt like the group was depending on him. So, I decided to take him out of the action for a little while. I have no idea when he'll come back, but I plan on him coming back some week. I am also already giving serious thoughts to a sequel, I might even drop little hints as to what it is about from this point on. If any of you figure it out, I want a review telling me so. It pleases me so when all of you figure out what is going through my head. This chapter and the next one will be pretty short by my standards, so please bear with me. Anyway, please R&R: I will send a rabid genetically altered towel after you unless you do.

* * *

It had been three days since Damon had gone into a coma. Erethyr was going over there to visit him every day. The rest of the group was trying not to go that often; they saw what might be able to happen if they did. They knew that if they were that regular about it that Cid would choose that moment to strike. Erethyr wasn't even taking the precaution of calling ahead. 

Things had been quiet however. This only served to worry the group more. SAI was planning something; they only wished that they knew what she was planning. The agents guarding Damon had gotten all of their numbers so that they could call if something went horribly wrong. They had all agreed that it was a wise move. They had also agreed on tests so that they could make sure that they were the real deal. The security measures were in place just to protect Damon from harm.

The alarm on Jeremie's laptop sounded. He didn't even look to see what it was before saying, "Let's hurry to get to the factory. I have a feeling that SAI's about to attack Damon!" The seven teenagers ran off to the factory in an attempt to head off SAI's attack before it could get too far.

* * *

"Good, all the pawn's are going where they're supposed to," SAI laughed to herself. 

"Why are you trying to destroy Damon? At least tell me that much, SAI," Cid asked.

"He's been a constant thorn in my side since day one. If I destroy him, then my path to world domination will be clear. The best move is to destroy someone in their weakest moment; and while he's in a coma, he couldn't be weaker," SAI explained.

"So in other words you're punishing him because of your own stupidity. That doesn't seem so smart to me," Cid quipped.

"Silence, puppet; or would you rather I perform more experiments on you while you're awake," SAI grinned evilly.

"You are an evil bitch SAI," Cid stated.

"Why thank you; but now let's watch as I finish off all of the heroes in one fell swoop," SAI declared, motioning to the vidscreen.

* * *

Erethyr was walking to the hospital. SAI had been quiet lately, so she didn't feel as if there was going to be in trouble. She saw something move in the shadows, so she went to investigate. Her scream could be heard, but it was cut short. To anybody that was looking it looked as though she walked back out of the shadows, completely unharmed. People just went about their business as if nothing had happened while she continued on her way, grinning with pleasure. "That's one enemy out of the way, now just to finish off one more," this doppelganger thought to himself, heading straight for the hospital.

* * *

The group was in the mountain region. There were little islands surrounding them with paths in between. Every one of these islands had some sort of a mountain on them, even the ones with towers. "I am programming your vehicles. The activated tower is nearby to the west. Be careful, though; SAI has set up some mighty defenses." 

"Thanks, Franz," Jeremie stated, "You know, I think that I'm starting to get used to the idea of fighting alongside you guys here on Lyoko."

The vehicles started to appear before them as Ulrich stated, "That's good to here Jeremie, but we have a battle ahead of us. A big one from what Franz said."

They raced to the tower and saw just how big of an army they were facing. "It looks like SAI's pulling out all the stops on this one. This has to be either the single largest tea party I've ever seen, or we're in big trouble," Odd said jokingly.

"What could she be planning," Xavier asked, his eyes growing wide as he figured it out.

"What is it, Xavier," Aelita inquired, worry lining her face.

"She's going after Damon! This force is just to stop us from deactivating the tower in time," Xavier shouted. The entire group was taken aback as he finally activated his Lyoko power. His forehead and eyes glowed red as he seemed to be taking in every minute detail.

"What's going on? Is he entering a rage state too," Yumi asked.

"Wait, what was it that Damon said that his orb did in his nightmare a while back," Jeremie asked.

"What do you mean," William inquired.

"Back before we got you back, Damon was having the same prophetic nightmare every single night. I think that Xavier's orb was giving him information, Jeremie," Yumi declared.

"Of, course; thanks Yumi. He's gathering information right now. He must be coming up with a battle plan," Jeremie stated.

Xavier stopped glowing as he said, "Jeremie, I need you and Aelita to put your hands together and fire your attacks. It should cause them to fuse together without harming either of you. I will need you to fire that ball of energy into the center of the enemies. It should take out a very large number of them."

"Alright, if you say so," Aelita stated as she and Jeremie did as Xavier said. They were surprised to see just how accurate he was.

"Now, I need Ulrich and William to pull the death top move again," Xavier stated. William groaned as he and Ulrich got off of the overbike and started that move again.

After a minute of speeding William up, Ulrich let go. Willliam zoomed to the enemies and started to clear them out. "Okay, Yumi, Jeremie, and Aelita; you three need to give William and Ulrich back-up while and destroy all of the enemies. Odd and I will take care of all the flying enemies. After we defeat over half of them, SAI will show up and take matters into her own hands. If any of us get devirtualized, we run straight for the hospital. I don't think that the agents will be able to stop Cid so easily. They might be able to hold him back long enough for one of us to get there. Let's just hope that we aren't too late."

With the battle plan in place, the group went into action. William was still cleaving through the enemies as a destructive top. Ulrich and his two clones were using super sprint to act as clean up. Jeremie and Yumi were on the ground firing away at the monsters from the ground while Aelita was acting as air support. Odd and Xavier were destroying all of the airborne enemies just like they had last time. Their efforts were having a great effect; Xavier's battle plan was working both quickly and efficiently. That was when SAI showed up, grinning with glee.

* * *

Cid, in the guise of Erethyr, had made his way up to the hospital. He went straight towards Damon's room, trying not to blow his cover. When he got to the door, the agents stopped him. "What is the reason for your visit today, Miss Arestho." 

"I just found a note signed by Damon. He said in this note that if he ever to be hospitalized, he wanted me to pull the plug," Cid stated, trying his hardest to tear up just like Erethyr would.

The agents nodded to each other and one put a pin into his thumb. When he pulled it out a drop of blood came out. Cid, having no idea what this gesture was for, didn't even react to it. The agents again nodded to each other and pulled out their tazers.

"What are you doing," Cid asked, taken aback by their movements.

"We are securing the area from the likes of SAI," one agent declared as he tazed Cid. He cried in pain as he reverted back to his normal form.

"How did you know," Cid asked, panting as he got back up.

"We are just that good," another agent said as he shocked Cid.

"SHIT!! The plan is failing," SAI shouted.

"Yes! Our security measures are working," Ulrich stated as he finished off the last enemy. William was leaning on his sword, trying to resist the urge to throw up.

"Very good; but in order to deactivate this tower you must beat me," SAI proclaimed, throwing her head back and laughing evilly. She detached her umbrella, making it into her sword and shield as she got hit from behind. "What the," she turned around only to get hit again. Odd was teleporting behind her constantly and hitting her with laser arrows. He was proving to be a very good distraction as Aelita went into the activated tower. She deactivated it without a problem.

"Well, that's one plan down. But I still have a few tricks up my sleeve," SAI declared as she disappeared.

"This can't be good," Xavier stated as they were all materialized.

* * *

Erethyr had just caught up with Cid at the hospital and watched him pixilize before he vanished. The agents saw her approach, but she stopped when she saw the drops of blood on the ground, fear rimming her eyes. 

"Oh, sorry about that," the agent said as he cleaned it up. They knew that this one was the real deal and let her in after she had recovered.

"Oh, Damon; I'm so glad that you're all right," Erethyr stated as she hugged him. The machines by his bed were all beeping away, showing that his condition had neither improved nor worsened. "Just come back to us, please." Erethyr kissed him and held there. When she got up, she walked out of the room, tears streaming from her eyes.

* * *

The group all got together after the attack and discussed what had happened. "We told you that this could happen Erethyr," Yumi stated. 

"I know; but I'm just so worried about him. I just couldn't stop myself," Erethyr argued.

"At least we know that our security measures are holding up," William stated.

"I don't think that they will be able to hold up for much longer," Jeremie said.

"Why is that," Aelita inquired.

"I think that she is about to try something original. It might even work," Jeremie stated.

"I think that you're right. I just can't for the life of me figure out what she could be planning," Xavier proclaimed, hitting his fist into the other palm.

"I just hope that we can stop it in time," Ulrich stated.

"Let's just be prepared for anything," Erethyr responded.

They were in Jeremie's room with the TV on, watching the news for anymore signs of a SAI attack. The news reporter then said something they weren't expecting, "In other news, Inviso-Bill has just been sighted in Amity Park again today. He is now Public Ghost Enemy Number One after an attack on the mayor. This will have wide reaching consequences around the world as ghost hunters will now be pooling together in an effort to stop this ghoul before he causes any more damage. This is Shelly Macamoto reporting on the latest ghost related incident. Stay tuned." Odd turned off the TV.

"This Inviso-Bill character seems like a pretty evil guy," Ullrich stated.

"I don't know, there has to be some reason behind it," Yumi reasoned.

"It doesn't really affect us though. This incident happened half a world away," Odd stated.

"True, now I'm going to searching the internet for any attacks that could have been done by SAI and not some weird ghost," Jeremie said, turning to his computer and typing away. This was the scene in Jeremie's room, but they had no idea what was going to be happening very soon.

* * *

"So my last plan didn't work. Big deal, my next plan will be foolproof," SAI declared. 

"Only one problem with that," Cid stated.

"And what could that be? My plan will work because where a frontal assault failed, an attack from within won't," SAI protested.

"You're the fool that came up with it," Cid declared, making SAI turn red with anger.

"That's it, you're going to be wide awake for the next set of experiments," SAI stated as the scyphozoa went to work. Cid was screaming with pain while SAI was laughing maniacally.


	19. Damon's Inferno

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko…Sissi nagged my last army until it committed suicide.

A/N: Hello, true believers. Chapter nineteen is here, and nobody has even left a review to comment on what will happen in a future sequel. Or, for that matter, tried telling me what they would like to see happen in future chapters. In this chapter, I'm going to be doing something fairly out of the ordinary, and then I will be delving into Damon's mind while he's in his coma. Nobody has even written any hate mail about Damon being taken out of the picture for a little while, maybe even indefinitely :o. I have been putting a lot of thought into this chapter, so it might not be as short as I originally intended for it to be (read the author notes in the last chapter). Now then, onto the chapter. Please R&R, or I will put all of your hands into warm water while you sleep, causing much embarrassment.

* * *

It was nine o' clock at night when Franz had called everybody into the factory, but this wasn't for a SAI attack, unlike earlier that day. They all got there, wondering what he had called them there for. When they got there, they saw the oldest of the Lerath family swords sitting in the corner. 

"What is this about Franz," Xavier asked, eyeing the ancient sword in the corner.

"I have just made a discovery that you are all going to be interested in. It might even put you on even grounds with SAI and Cid if they stage another invasion of the real world," Franz declared.

"What is that," Ulrich asked.

"I was examining the sword that Damon used when he last fought Cid. I was trying to figure out why it seemed to allow him to enter his rage state temporarily. That's when I found out that the sword has the ability to unlock inactive DNA strands within those of the Lerath bloodline," Franz proclaimed, beaming at his discovery.

"So, how does that apply to us," Yumi inquired.

"I'm glad you asked, Yumi," Franz replied, "I noticed that the sword did indeed activate his Lyoko power here on Earth, without my intervention. If some of his blood hadn't been on the sword I wouldn't have even found those extra DNA strands that suddenly became active. I believe that I may be able to do the same things to all of you. But, seeing as how you don't have those DNA strands, I'd have to implant them via the scanners."

"Isn't that dangerous," Aelita asked, "Wouldn't that upset our metabolisms, since we didn't start out with those extra strands of code?"

"Yes, you are the perceptive one, Aelita," Franz stated, "But the human body will eventually accept those extra strands of DNA. It would be similar to a blood transfusion, except for the fact that the strands are already a part of your psyche. Thus, there will be no fear of rejection."

"ALRIGHT!!! I could sleep in later and always be the first in line for lunch! This is totally awesome, when can we do it," Odd exclaimed excitedly.

"Woah, Odd; didn't you just hear him? Our metabolisms would have to adjust before we could use those powers freely," Jeremie declared, trying to calm down his friend, "If we tried to use those abilities too much before our metabolisms had enough time to adjust, it could potentially burn our bodies out. We could even die if we used it too much right away. How much time do you think that it would take for our bodies to adjust, nominally?"

"It should take as little as a week, but not much more than a week and a half, depending on the power and your own body," Franz responded, "Every week, I would need to do a scan to make sure that you are indeed taking it well; as an extra safety precaution."

"I think that this might just be a wise thing to do," William stated, surprising the entire group.

"You really think so William," Erethyr inquired, eyes as wide as they could possibly be.

"Yeah, we need to get an edge on SAI. As far as I can tell, this may be our only chance to even the playing ground," William replied. The entire group nodded in agreement.

"If all of you are in agreement, I will ask three of you at a time to go down into the scanner room. This could take a while, and I don't want any of you to get unnecessarily hurt if something unforeseen happens," Franz declared.

"Yumi, Odd, and I will go first, seeing as how we are three of the oldest Lyoko warriors," Ulrich declared.

"Alright, I will start up the process as soon as you are in the scanners," Franz declared as he started to type away furiously at the keyboard. Ten minutes later, Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich all staggered into the computer lab, trying to catch their breaths.

"Xavier, Aelita, and William; you're up," Yumi panted. The three in question all filed out of the room and went down to the scanners. About fifteen minutes later, all three of them were back in the computer lab, likewise gasping for air.

"What took you guys longer than us," Odd asked.

"They each had strong traces of digital particles surrounding their bodies that I had to get rid of first. They would have caused interference that would have been detrimental," Franz declared as Erethyr and Jeremie both headed down to the scanner room.

"I would get comfortable, this could take a while," Franz stated.

"Why is that," William asked.

"Jeremie's power is very strong; it rips holes in the fabric of space and time. As for Erethyr, she started her life as a virtual being. As such, she will have far more digital particles to eradicate than you, Xavier, and Aelita put together. That, and the fact that she has two powers: her healing and her rage. Those two powers are radically different. Ulrich's abilities are all tied together by his speed. In essence, I will have to put twice as many strands of DNA into her than I did into the rest of you. The process is going to end up taking a total of about thirty minutes," Franz declared. The six teens in the computer lab decided to take his advice and get comfortable.

About thirty minutes later, Jeremie and Erethyr came back into the room, desperately trying to catch their breath. "You will all be pleased to know that I did give you a little something extra. You will all be able to transform yourselves into your Lyoko forms, weapons and all. When Damon gets out of his coma, he'll also have to come down here so that I can do that to him too. Now, since that was probably very taxing on all of you, I suggest that you all go to bed," Franz declared.

"All right, we will. Thanks Franz," Yumi replied as they all went home.

"Man, I still can't believe that he actually did this for all of us," Odd declared when they got out of the factory, "Now, we're true superheroes!"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," William stated.

"See you all tomorrow, but let's not talk about this until we have had enough time to recover," Yumi proclaimed.

"Yeah, it would probably be a good idea to not even show off these abilities until SAI tries to attack us again in the real world," Jeremie agreed. The group of friends went to their separate homes, and quickly fell asleep when they all got into their beds.

* * *

One in the Morning

* * *

SAI was making the final preparations for her attack. She knew that her entry into Damon's mind would be very tricky, so she was sending Cid in first. She had found the plug-in closest to Damon's bed and was ready. 

"Alright, Cid, you're going first," SAI declared.

"As you wish, Lady SAI," the Cid clone stated.

"Ooh, she loves that name," the real Cid stated sarcastically, with SAI shuddering with pleasure. SAI activated the tower and sent the Cid clone in first, carefully observing how he entered Damon.

A silver mist exited out of a now burnt out electric socket and entered Damon's body. While in Damon's body it rushed into his head. Soon afterwards, a second silver mist joined it.

They were in, and they were going to wreak havoc on Damon's mind.

* * *

The Computer Lab

* * *

Franz woke with a start. He looked over at the super computer, and he saw something that he didn't like. There was an activated tower, and after he had exhausted the entire Lyoko group, he had no recourse but to try and deactivate it from here. He started typing furiously, but he realized that he couldn't deactivate it unless SAI was distracted. He decided to call the only two members of the group that he thought might be able to help. 

Xavier's phone rang and he picked it up. "Hello," he said very groggily.

"SAI has just activated a tower in the mountain region," Franz declared, automatically waking up Xavier, "I don't think that she's about to let Damon rest."

"I'll be there in a minute," Xavier stated as he hung up and got dressed.

"Now, just to call either Aelita or Erethyr," Franz said to himself as he called Aelita.

There was a click and Erethyr said, "Hello?" She actually sounded wide awake.

"Is Aelita awake," Franz asked.

"No, she's out cold. Is there something wrong," Erethyr inquired.

"Yes, SAI has just activated a tower in the mountain region. As I told Xavier, I don't think that she's about to let Damon rest," Franz declared.

"I'm on my way," Erethyr stated as she too got dressed. She went downstairs and saw that Xavier was waiting for her.

"You look wide awake," Xavier commented as they hurried off to the factory.

"I'm a light sleeper," Erethyr stated simply.

"Well, that explains some things," Xavier said when they reached the manhole cover in the park.

"Like what," Erethyr inquired as she went down into the sewers.

"Like how you are always one of the first to get to the factory in the middle of the night," Xavier replied.

"Hmmm, I'd never thought about it like that," Erethyr admitted as she put on her attachable roller blades.

"I hope that Odd doesn't mind if I borrow his skateboard," Xavier stated as he picked it up.

"Seeing as how this is an emergency, I don't think that he'll mind," Erethyr replied. They headed down the sewers to the factory entrance. When they got there, they quickly exited the sewers and made for the freight elevator. They made their way straight to the scanner room. Franz immediately virtualized them.

"I just hope that their not too late," Franz said to himself.

* * *

Damon's Mind

* * *

Damon and Erethyr were walking hand in hand down a street that he wasn't familiar with. He didn't care though; he was with the girl of his dreams. A black and white blur appeared before him. This blur was mostly black, but it did have white at its extremities. It did have a distinguishing characteristic, however. It had glowing green eyes. 

"Get out of here," the blur said, "There are monsters attacking!" The blur's hands glowed green as it opened fire on what appeared to be a…CRAB! Damon recognized the danger immediately. SAI was attacking this wonderful town.

Erethyr let go of his hand and he looked over at her. She was now in her Lyoko form. All his friends, save for Yumi and William, were running up on them; all of them were also in there Lyoko forms. Damon was now thoroughly confused. "Why are my friends in their Lyoko forms," Damon thought out loud.

His friends quickly dispatched the crab. "Thanks," the blur declared.

"No problem," Odd said, "That's what superheroes do for each other." Now Damon was even more confused. He couldn't make heads or tails of this. His friends were in their Lyoko forms, they were talking to this blur as if he was their friend. He also noticed that Cid was there, but he was fighting alongside them. He was now even more confused.

"Thanks again for releasing me from SAI's grip," Cid declared.

"No sweat," Ulrich stated, "Who would have guessed that you were being held captive inside of SAI's orb."

"I know," Aelita declared, "I was just as surprised as anybody else here. I just wish that we could have gotten you out before all of those genetic experiments."

That was when SAI showed up. "Well, well, well; it looks like I'm going to get to finish all of you off here and now." She was grinning evilly as Cid turned on the group. He pulled out his revolvers and shot Jeremie and Aelita in their heads. The blood splattered onto Erethyr and she locked up. She couldn't move, but her face couldn't have been any more horrified.

Cid was laughing maniacally as he shot Ulrich in the chest. This time the blood splattered onto Damon. Ulrich clutched his chest and asked, "Why?" He fell on top of Jeremie and Aelita.

SAI floated down and slew Odd and Xavier. They had shocked looks on their faces as they too fell. Cid put away his revolvers as he drew his sword. Damon started to step back as they destroyed the blur. It fell to the ground in three pieces. Damon could start to feel his rage building up. He started to transform into his rage state.

"**YOU WILL NOT KILL ANYBODY ELSE**," Damon yelled. He finished transforming, but he looked different this time. His hair had exploded out of the hair tie. It was spiked behind him while his bangs went to their usual spot. He didn't have a red aura this time. His aura was black and had manifested itself into the shape of bat-like wings. His eyes were literally on fire. His fingers had turned into claws and his face was contorted into a snarl; his teeth had turned into fangs. His skin had also changed to a shade of black. He truly looked like a demon.

* * *

Lyoko

* * *

"I've got bad news you two," Franz said to Erethyr and Xavier. 

"What happened," Xavier shouted as he fired two more arrows, killing the two blocks in front of them.

"An agent just called. He has told me that Damon has activated his Lyoko power; he actually made one of them shit himself," Franz stated.

"Why is that," Erethyr inquired with a slash of one of her scimitars. She destroyed the crab that she had been fighting easily.

"He appears to of have become a demon. His entire appearance has changed; there's even smoke coming out from under his eyelids. I don't know what SAI has just done in his mind, but it must be pretty damn bad if he pushed his Lyoko power to its very limit," Franz stated, concern in his voice.

"Then we've got to hurry if we want to save him from her," Erethyr shouted, entering her own enraged state. She started to decimate all of the land based opponents. They were actually running away from her in fear. Xavier turned towards the sky and started to fire away furiously.

"SAI, you evil bitch; can't you just let him recover in peace," Xavier muttered. He destroyed twenty mantas and three hornets in less than two minutes. He was trying his hardest to get Erethyr to the tower so that she could deactivate it.

* * *

Damon's Mind

* * *

"**DIE**," Damon shouted as he lunged at Cid. Cid was taken aback by his monstrous transformation. He was struck in fear by his enraged foe. He quickly found Damon's claws in his gut. He looked up into Damon's face and screamed in pain. From the area that Damon had just stabbed, Cid was starting to incinerate. He looked into Damon's eyes and was frozen in fear. The only thing that he saw was his own death; a death by flames. Cid's eyes started to smoke as they too turned into an inferno. Damon sneered as his foe was turned to ashes. Cid couldn't even regenerate from that: both his mind and his body were destroyed in Damon's fury. There was nothing left to regenerate. 

SAI looked at Damon with a sense of apprehension. He had just annihilated her puppet like it was nothing. She was glad that she had only sent a polymorphic specter of herself. If she had come, she would surely be killed here and now by him. She did the only thing that she could think to do: she stabbed Erethyr in the chest. Erethyr fell with only the slightest grunt. Damon turned around and saw SAI pulling her sword out of his love's chest. He howled with primitive fury, but he was now crying.

He howled again and flames spread themselves from him, destroying the entire landscape. The sky was red and blood was raining from the sky. SAI was now realizing her fatal error. She had killed the one thing that was keeping his sanity. She stepped back, trying to get away from Damon. He flew after her as she ran.

He surpassed her expeditious retreat and was landing right in front of her. She was frozen in fear. She couldn't move as he stabbed both of his claws into the sides of her head and stared her in the eyes. She screamed in pain as both her mind and her body were incinerated by his fury. He kept her in a single molded form as her entire body turned to ash. She was standing there with the same look of fear that she had when she was destroyed. Satisfied with her immolation, he flew back to Erethyr. He knelt down beside her and became human again. He exited his demonic form and weeped. She was gone, and he wasn't able to save her. "NNOOOOOO!!!!!!"

* * *

Lyoko

* * *

All of the monsters had been destroyed and Erethyr exited her rage form as she entered the tower. She floated up to the second platform and put her hand on the panel that appeared before her. She deactivated the tower and Franz materialized both her and Xavier. 

They quickly made their way up to the computer lab. "Any change in his state," Erethyr asked worriedly.

"Yes," Franz stated solemnly, "He changed back to normal, but there are tears streaming from his eyes. Apparently whatever SAI did to him, has broken his spirit. He doesn't have any fight left in him. She might of have killed all of you in his dream. If so, then his spirit will be broken. I will try to find a way to turn all of you into specters for a short period of time. We have to get into his mind and heal those deep wounds."

"I'll be working right alongside you," Xavier declared, "This is all my fault for making those polymorphic specters in the first place."

"We'll start work on it in the morning. I'll call the principal first thing in the morning and tell him what you are going to help me do. I'm just glad that you have stepped up to the plate, Xavier," Franz said, smiling grimly.

Xavier and Erethyr made their way back to the dorms, sad that they hadn't been able to stop SAI in time. This was truly a sad day for the erstwhile heroes.

* * *

SAI's Orb

* * *

"I can't believe that Damon could actually look that frightful," SAI said, shivering. 

"I might have only been able to catch two glimpses through my clone's eyes, but one of those glimpses was more than enough. If I had the ability to shit my pants here on Lyoko, I would have," Cid declared, shuddering as he remembered the look in Damon's eyes.

"I think that it would be a wise idea to leave well enough alone for a little while," SAI muttered after a long pause.

"He really shook you up that bad, didn't he," Cid inquired, almost worried about his captors mental well being.

"Yes…in his eyes, he was tearing me apart, molecule by molecule," SAI replied, as quietly as she could. She was holding herself, trying to shake those images out of her head. "I'm not going to be performing more experiments on you. I've already done all that I wanted to. I think that now would be a good time to just let my enemies rest." With that she just vanished, Cid couldn't tell where she had gone but he was smiling to himself.

"At least when Damon wakes up, he might just be willing to tell his friends where I'm at. I hope," Cid muttered.


	20. Checkups

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. I am expecting results after sending in a bunch of two-year olds hyped up on pure sugar, however.

A/N: Hello, and once again, we have reached a new chapter. I may not have seen any more reviews, but I have been favorited by HoboLover. Thanks, it means a lot to me. Almost as much as getting a review from you would have, but I'll take what I can get. This chapter takes place a week after the last one. SAI hasn't even been heard from since her assault on Damon's head. Damon is still in his coma. Other developments will be in the story once I think of them ;P. Remember people, I'm just coming up with this stuff on the fly. I have put serious thought into very few chapters. The ones that I have thought completely through are very obvious. I am putting serious thought into my sequel, however. I just don't know how long I'm going to make this story before I start writing another one. I do plan on making this into a series, however. Now, before I start rambling, onto the last chapter in week four. Just be forewarned that this chapter is short, it is merely setting the stage for the next chapter. Please R&R, I have just imported a lot of wet noodles to use unless you do…BEWARE!!!

* * *

The group was in the factory. It had been one week since the last SAI attack and they were all mystified as to her sudden disappearance. Franz, Xavier, and Jeremie-as the three tech-heads- were working on a way to enter Damon's mind, with little success. 

"I still can't believe that SAI tried something so gutsy," Yumi stated.

"Yeah, what's even more amazing is that Damon actually made one of those agents shit himself," Odd laughed, "Maybe somebody should have brought him his brown pants."

"The agents' description of his transformation is rather unnerving though," Ulrich declared.

"I know what you mean," Aelita commented, "It sounded like he actually turned into a demon. I wonder what SAI could have done to push him that far."

"I don't know," Xavier chimed in, "But I have a feeling that even she thinks that she pushed him too far. I have known her for quite a while, and she has never once acted like this. He must of have done something really traumatizing to her. The entire time I've known her, she has never once shown fear; I think that Damon might have shown her something even worse than fear. That is the only reason that I can come up with that might explain her sudden change in behavior."

"That does make sense," William said.

"I concur; this does seem to go completely against her behavioral pattern," Jeremie agreed. Erethyr was eerily silent. She had neither visited Damon nor spoken since the last SAI attack. She was even going so far as to eat and sleep less. She was looking extremely malnourished. The group was very worried about her well being, but they couldn't help her. She was more worried about getting Damon back to the world of the living than her own personal health.

"Alright," Franz proclaimed, stopping all of the idle chit-chat, "I have prepped one scanner for your weekly check-ups. I could only prep one scanner because I have to carefully observe your metabolisms. Yumi, you're up first."

Yumi headed to the scanner room and stepped into one of the scanners. After three minutes, she was heading back upstairs. "So, how did it go," Yumi asked.

"You appear to have adjusted nicely. You can use your powers right away, but be careful. They are not as strong unless you are in your Lyoko form," Franz advised.

"Thank you," Yumi said.

"You're up, Ulrich," Franz proclaimed. Ulrich went downstairs and came back up three minutes later.

"What's up," Ulrich inquired.

"You're body hasn't completely adjusted yet. I'd say wait about another half a week; then come back here for another scan," Franz stated.

"Well, I guess I'm going to have to wait for a little while before I can join you Yumi," Ulrich declared.

"Okay, Odd; head on down there," Franz stated.

"YAHOO," Odd shouted as he headed to the elevator. He came back up three minutes later, just as exuberant as he was when he left.

"Odd, you are in the same state as Ulrich. Exact same time frame for your next check-up too," Franz stated, popping Odd's happy bubble, "Xavier, it's your turn."

Xavier nodded and headed down to the scanner room. He also came back up three minutes later. Franz just gave him the thumbs up as Aelita headed downstairs. She came back three minutes later. She looked at her father quizzically; he shook his head and William took his turn.

When he came back, Franz said, "William, your Lyoko power is fairly complex, so you are going to have to wait another week. The conversion of a human into smoke is a taxing one."

"I understand," William replied. Jeremie was the next to go downstairs. He wasn't exactly hopeful that his body would have adjusted. He knew that William's power was less complicated than his own. When he got back to the computer lab, he wasn't disappointed.

When Erethyr went downstairs, she didn't come back in the same time frame that the rest of the group had. The group was getting worried, but Franz decided to dissuade their worries. "Don't worry; she just has two sets of powers that I have to comb through to make sure that they are compatible with her body. It doesn't help that she hasn't eaten or slept in a few days."

She came back and looked towards Franz. "Your powers have adjusted to your body, but it will break down if you don't get any food or rest soon. If we have to, we will strap you down and force feed you," Franz declared. Erethyr was taken aback by the serious tone in his voice. She looked at the rest of her friends, and they all had the same worried expression on their faces. She now realized just how much she had been worrying her friends…and passed out.

Yumi caught her with her telekinesis and set her down gently. "I think that we might need to get her to the hospital," Yumi declared. Franz called the hospital, asking for the pick-up of the malnourished form of Erethyr. The group got up to the ground floor of the elevator, with Yumi levitating Erethyr. She could feel herself straining to do this, so she transformed into her Lyoko form.

When the ambulance arrived, they saw Yumi in her Lyoko form and Erethyr floating. "What the hell is going on here," one of the ambulance people asked as he pulled out the stretcher. Yumi set Erethyr down onto the stretcher before she explained why she looked like this. The stretcher was loaded into the ambulance, and it drove off to the hospital. Yumi transformed out of her Lyoko form before giving a sigh of relief.

"With any luck, she'll be put into the same room as Damon," Aelita said.

"She will definitely be put into the same room as him. That way the same security that Damon has will be extended to her while she recovers," William commented. The rest of the group assented with him. They decided to head on home before it got dark; they needed some rest and they all just hoped that SAI would keep her unsteady peace.

* * *

SAI's Orb

* * *

"Yeah, I'm not sure if I should touch her," SAI proclaimed. 

"Why, are you scared of her temper," Cid asked sarcastically.

"Just…be quiet," SAI said, unsure of why she wasn't taking the opportunity to strike at another weakened opponent.

"I bet I know why you don't want to strike her," Cid said with a lilting tone of voice.

"And why is that," SAI demanded.

"Because she's Damon's girlfriend; you remember what happened the last time that you struck her, even if it was just in his dreams," Cid jibed. SAI just bit her lip. She knew that his words were true. She didn't want to have to face that fury again. The last time was enough to put a fear of god into her.

SAI sighed, "I have to attack her. I need to weaken their team, and she is a healer first. I think that I'll attack her later on this week. I will employ that same mind trick as last time. If I harm her physically, I'm signing my own death warrant. Mentally, however, is another ball park entirely." She was steadily becoming surer of herself.

"I still don't think that it's a good idea, but you're the captor here. I really don't have a say in things," Cid declared.

"I'm not going to try anything as foolhardy as that last attack. This one is going to be a lot more subtle. Yes, this new plan is brilliant," SAI declared confidently.

"Why is it that I have a bad feeling that this involves more genetic experimentation," Cid asked himself.

"Because it does; but since you were such a good boy as to point out the flaw of my last attack, I won't keep you awake for it this time," SAI grinned as she started to put him to sleep.

"Oh, lucky me," Cid said sarcastically as he was knocked out.

"Now, you are going to be able to assume the personality of anything that you transform into," SAI laughed maniacally as she started the experimentation process anew, via scyphozoa.


	21. Mind Games

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. But I shall soon own…THE WORLD! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

A/N: I love the smell of a new week of chapters. It is a beautiful smell. I know that the length of the last chapter was uncharacteristically short for me. Hell, I haven't written chapters that short since way back at the beginning, before all of the plot twists. I know that the story has had a lot of ups and downs…okay mostly downs. But that is besides the point. The point is that I'm still writing for all of you, my semi-faithful fans. I hope that you liked chapter nineteen, because this is going to be a semi-repeat of that. As I indicated in the last chapter, the heroes are still getting used to their powers on Earth. The only ones that have their unhindered usages are the mental users, Yumi and Xavier. SAI is going to be as subtle as she possibly can be in an attempt to break Erethyr's spirit. But now I'm blathering. Please R&R, I will give all of you atomic sit-ups unless you comply with my demands.

* * *

Ulrich, William, and Odd have all gotten their last check-ups. They now have the go ahead to use their powers on Earth. Odd was so happy at the news that he teleported himself on top of Ulrich's head. Aelita and Jeremie haven't gone in yet, due to the complexity of both of their powers; they both thought it might be a good idea to wait a little bit longer. They have visited Erethyr in the hospital; she's doing a lot better now that she has started eating again, but she's still feeling pretty weak. The entirety of the active group members have all agreed that they need training sessions in order to get a handle on their powers while they're on Earth. 

"I still can't believe how helpful Jim's being," Odd said.

"Yeah," Ulrich added, "It must be because we are national heroes now."

"It sucks that Erethyr is still to weak to leave the hospital room," Yumi stated.

"Well, at least she's in the same room as Damon," Xavier stated, "That must be part of the reason why she is recovering so quickly."

"Who called it," William boasted.

"No need to get so cocky William," Ulrich declared, "Sure, you did call it. That is still no reason to think that you are better than us."

"I know, most of you have been at this longer than I have," William admitted, "But I think that I'm doing pretty good for a late comer."

"We will give you that much, William," Yumi laughed.

"Let's suit up," Xavier declared. All five of them pixilated and expanded outward. When their molecules came back together they were in their Lyoko forms.

"Now let's get some serious training done," Ulrich declared.

The five young heroes pulled out their various weapons, and Jim set up some training dummies. "I hope that these will stand up to you five," Jim proclaimed.

"Thanks, Jim," Xavier said as he shot an arrow into one of the dummies. The dummy withstood it without any problems.

"Wow, these are really sturdy," William declared as he did an overhead swing into another dummy. This dummy stood up just as well as Xavier's had.

"I used only the finest materials," Jim stated proudly, puffing his chest out.

"It looks like it's made out of dehydrated mystery meat," Ulrich said, inspecting the dummy closely.

"No wonder they're standing up so well. That shit is practically indestructible," Odd declared.

"Probably why SAI had some of it on her metal monster a couple of months back," Yumi quipped.

"Exactly," Odd declared as he teleported all around the dummy, firing his laser arrows.

"Who knew that all of you would become superheroes someday," Jim thought out loud.

"Well, we already were; but until recently, it didn't become public knowledge," Yumi declared.

"I just can't wait until Erethyr and Damon are all better," William stated.

"Yeah, then our training sessions can get really intense," Ulrich commented.

"Oh Ulrich dear," came a familiar voice.

"Shit, not her; not now," Ulrich moaned.

"You should be happy that you have your own little fan club, Ulrich dear," Odd joked.

"Just as long as she isn't the president of it," Ulrich declared, "I could care less."

As Sissi drew closer, Ulrich split himself into three. "Which one of you is the real Ulrich," asked a confused Sissi.

"Gotta catch us to figure that one out," one of the Ulrichs declared as they raced up to the top of the building at high speeds.

"HEY!!! No fair," Sissi cried. The entire group, even Jim was laughing at Sissi's predicament.

* * *

SAI's Orb

* * *

"Alright, I will start my next attack now. I'm depending on you to fulfill your part of the plan," SAI declared. 

"Of course, Lady SAI," the newest Cid clone replied.

"Ooh, I just LOVE that name," SAI said, shuddering with rapture.

"You better go before she jizzes her panties," Cid proclaimed sarcastically. SAI just smirked at him as both she and his clone left the orb.

The scyphozoa just floated over to the corner and began to look like it was crying again. Cid just rolled his eyes and tried to figure out some way to inform the rest of the group as to his location. Then it struck him.

"Hey, scyphy," Cid shouted. The scyphozoa turned towards him. Cid just nodded him over; the scyphozoa hesitantly floated over to him.

"You don't really like SAI, do you," Cid inquired. The scyphozoa shook its body.

"Well, I have a plan that will solve both of our problems. What I want you to do is…" Cid stated as he started to explain his plan to the scyphozoa. After he was done, the scyphozoa used one of its tentacles to give Cid a high five. The plan was in place, now just for the right moment to use it.

* * *

The Hospital Room

* * *

The agents were keeping a close watch on the electrical sockets. They had been recently debriefed as to one of the various attack methods of their primary enemy. That is when they saw the silver smoke coming out of the socket. What they hadn't debriefed on was how to exterminate the specters. One of the agents decided to give Aelita a call. 

"Yes, what is it," Aelita asked.

"We've got an emergency here. SAI has just decided to attack…Erethyr. You kids might want to head over to the factory ASAP," the agent declared.

"Thanks for the update, agent. Thanks to you, we might even head off the attack before the damage becomes as great as Damon's," Aelita stated as she hung up the phone.

"Now all we can do is wait," the agent proclaimed.

* * *

The Factory

* * *

The entire group had been rounded up in a matter of minutes and had convened at the factory. Ulrich gave Xavier his skateboard now that he had his super sprint on Earth. Jim even decided to tag along to see their battle unfold on Lyoko. 

The entire group was virtualized onto the frozen wasteland of the ice sector. "I'm programming your vehicles. The activated tower is due northeast of your current position," Franz declared.

"Have I ever mentioned that I don't like how cold it is in this sector," Odd stated.

"Only about a million times," Ulrich commented, rolling his eyes.

"Be careful, I'm detecting the scyphozoa en route to your location…wait, that's strange," Franz declared.

"What's strange," William asked.

"The scyphozoa isn't showing itself as red. It's actually white on the scan this time," Franz replied, sounding confused.

The scyphozoa floated up to the group and took Aelita in its tentacles. She floated off of the ground and was receiving data from the creature. "Aelita," Jeremie shouted, charging up his energy attack.

"It's alright, Jeremie," Aelita said, confusing the group, "It's just trying to communicate with me."

"WHAT?! That seems pretty iffy if you ask me," Yumi declared, pulling out her fans. The scyphozoa stopped sending data to Aelita and released her. Aelita nodded to the scyphozoa and it took off.

"What was that all about," Xavier asked.

"It had a message from Cid," Aelita declared, getting shocked expressions from the entire group.

"What does he have to say," William inquired warily.

"He said that SAI has been holding him captive and sending clones to attack us. She has been performing experiments on his DNA to give her an edge on us. She has him held captive in her orb," Aelita explained.

"That seems pretty dodgy to me," Odd said, "How could he be held captive in one of those orbs?"

"Actually, the program that the orb was created for has free access to it," Xavier explained, "And that is actually a very ingenious thing to do."

"What," Jeremie asked, "Hiding him in her orb, or using the scyphozoa to send a message to us?"

"Both, in all actuality. What else did he have to say," Xavier inquired, now intrigued.

"He saw into Damon's mind when she attacked him," Aelita proclaimed hesitantly, "But now isn't the time to go into that. We've got a tower to deactivate." The group realized that she was right and raced off to the activated tower at top speed to make up for lost time.

* * *

Erethyr's Mind

* * *

Erethyr and Damon were walking in a beautiful meadow, holding hands. They looked at each other and went for a warm embrace. Erethyr didn't notice the silver mist enter Damon's body. 

They reluctantly pulled away from each other's embrace. Erethyr said, "Let's change the scenery a little bit, Damon." The scenery changed to the mountain sector on Lyoko.

"You know, this does look beautiful and all, but I have a confession to make," Damon sighed.

Erethyr looked at him quizzically. "This is supposed to be a dream. Why is it that I don't know what he's going to say next," Erethyr thought to herself.

"I don't really love you," Damon declared, looking at her sympathetically.

It was like Erethyr had just had her heart yanked out of her chest. "Then who do you love," she asked shakily, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Damon grinned sheepishly before saying, "SAI."

Erethyr started to lose control over her dream at that point. It was becoming a nightmare. The ground opened up underneath her, belching flame. SAI popped out of the ground and locked lips with Damon. Erethyr was bawling at this point. "Why…how could you? I loved you. I was willing to give it all for you. Why have you forsaken me," Erethyr asked hysterically.

"Because he has always loved me, from the first time that he saw me in his nightmares. Isn't that right, honey," SAI stated as she rubbed his chest. Damon could only nod slowly. He was completely entranced by SAI.

Erethyr was now heartbroken. She pulled back her fist and decked Damon. He held himself in pain. SAI gave an expression of shock and disappeared, escaping from Erethyr's mind and leaving Cid behind within Damon. "That's what these clones are for-cannon fodder," SAI thought to herself as she went back to the super computer.

* * *

Lyoko

* * *

The group had just arrived at the tower when SAI appeared. "What have you done to Erethyr," Yumi demanded. 

"I only planted the seed of dissension. I left it entirely up to her if she would let it grow," SAI replied with a grin.

"You really are an evil bitch, you know that," Xavier declared.

"What," SAI said almost seductively, "You know that I've been way better at attacking someone's psyche than you ever were."

"You **didn't**," Xavier stated incredulously.

SAI giggled, "Yes, I did; and you know what the only thing stopping me from attacking you like I have Damon and Erethyr is." She deactivated the tower before disappearing in a puff of silver mist.

"What did she mean," Yumi asked.

"I'll tell you when we get out of here," Xavier stated. Franz took his hint and started to devirtualize the group.

* * *

The Computer Lab

* * *

"First off, before I explain what SAI meant, let's hear what Cid saw in Damon's mind," Xavier declared, trying to avoid the subject for as long as possible. 

Aelita noticed this, but continued on anyway, "SAI and the Cid clone of the day went into Damon's mind and interrupted one of his usually prophetic dreams. They were in an unfamiliar city. Cid revealed to Damon where he was being held, through his image of me, before proceeding to kill us all. Between him and SAI, they killed everybody but Erethyr in the first attack. He was confused by why Yumi and William weren't present at the time, however. That was when Damon went ballistic and transformed into a demon. He obliterated the clone with only one claw and a look into his eyes. SAI took it too far by killing Erethyr. That is when the entire scenery changed. The city turned into a desolate wasteland, with crumbling remains of buildings on fire. The ground looked like it was molten and the sky was red. It was even raining blood. SAI started to run away, but Damon flew up and caught her. He stabbed both claws into either side of her face and gazed into her eyes. He showed her death to her, being ripped apart molecule by molecule. She was turned into a statue of ash and he flew over to Erethyr's body. He turned back into his human form and wept for Erethyr. That was all that he saw before SAI closed the connection into his mind." The entire group, Jim and Franz included, shuddered at the description of what had happened in Damon's head.

"…No, wonder she held of on her attacks for a while," Jeremie stated.

"Yeah, that could seriously shake up anybody," William stated.

"We have to go into his mind and fix what SAI did to him," Yumi declared with conviction.

"Yeah," Odd stated, "His mind was fucked up enough after what had happened to him previously, but this just went over the edge."

"But now the question is," Aelita stated, trying to get the conversation back to Xavier, "what did SAI mean on Lyoko, Xavier?"

Xavier winced, there was no way to avoid it any more. He hesitantly said, "Way back in the day, before the super calculator was activated, SAI and I were lovers…"

"WHAT?! No fucking way," was the entire group statement.

"You mean that you two were…how does that work out," Jim asked.

"You see, up until a few months ago," Xavier explained, "I was also a computer program…and I was trying to kill the others. That all changed when I found out what SAI was really up to. She took all the power that I had gained fighting the Lyoko warriors. I tried to get them to help me, but it was thanks to Damon that they accepted me. I owe Damon a lot, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help him."

"That is really touching, but if SAI thinks that she can pull apart our group with her words alone," Ulrich declared, putting his hand on Xavier's shoulder, "She's very mistaken."

Xavier looked up to Ulrich in astonishment. "Yeah, she may be clever, but we trust you," Yumi said as she too put her hand on Xavier's shoulder. He looked around to all of his friends. They were all nodding in agreement.

A tear rolled down Xavier's cheek as he said, "Thanks, that means a lot to me."

"What are friends for," William declared.

* * *

Erethyr's Mind

* * *

Erethyr had beaten the shit out of Damon. He was now just a bloody mess on the ground. Erethyr looked as though she had been crying, "Why…why have you forsaken me…" 


	22. Mindscape

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko…my last bid for world domination didn't work out too well either.

A/N: Alright, we're here at glorious chapter 22. I'd like to thank ShadowGirdo for favoriting my story. That is like Christmas for me…except creepier because it's in my pants. Don't ask, I don't even know. I'm finally sick and tired of Damon being in his coma. He's just getting paid for lying around and doing nothing. Fucking freeloader, if you weren't a central character I'd fire you now Damon! I've been watching some material by Jeff Dunham lately, he's really good. You never know, I might integrate some of his act into this fanfic sometime. But that is for another day, I think. Sorry about that cliffy last time, but I couldn't think of any better way to end that chapter. Anyway, here's what all of my faithful readers have been waiting for. Please R&R, or I'll have Walter fart in your town (You'd have to see Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity to get it. In stores now!)

* * *

The Hospital

* * *

It has now been a month since Damon was knocked into a coma, and one and a half weeks since Erethyr was admitted into the hospital. She has recovered from her bout with malnourishment, but SAI has seriously shaken her. Franz, Jeremie, and Xavier have finally come up with a way to enter Damon's mind, but only three can go. They have drawn straws; Erethyr, Xavier, and Aelita were the ones that got the long straws. Those three are in the hospital room with Damon, waiting for the transfer. 

"Okay, daddy," Aelita declared over her cell phone, "We're ready."

"Starting specter process now," Franz stated as three white specters came out of an electric socket. They flew into our three heroes and they became specter versions of themselves.

"You know the plan everybody," Xavier proclaimed as he flew into Damon. Erethyr and Aelita followed him shortly thereafter. His entire body was glowing white; the glow moved until it was only affecting his head, then it disappeared altogether.

* * *

Damon's Mind

* * *

Erethyr, Aelita, and Xavier appeared on the desolate wasteland of Damon's mind. It looked like a war had destroyed the city. Buildings were crumbling and on fire. The streets looked almost like molten lava. The sky was red and it was raining blood. If Erethyr weren't so determined to find Erethyr and fix the damage that SAI had caused, she would have been freaking out. 

"Okay, we've got to find Damon fast. The sooner we find him, the sooner we can fix this damage," Xavier proclaimed, his voice shaking.

"What SAI did must have been pretty fucking traumatic if this is what the landscape looks like," Aelita stated, looking around at all of the destruction. Erethyr just kept silent, so as to not lose her focus.

They wandered the streets for what seemed like hours. They combed through every nook and cranny of the city. They finally found Damon in front of city hall, weeping.

"Damon, are you alright," Aelita asked.

Damon turned to her, his eyes alight with fear. "Ghost of the past, why do you haunt me? Just because I was unable to save you from SAI and Cid, you think that I feel no grief," Damon demanded. His voice was hoarse, as though he had been screaming a lot.

"Damon," Xavier declared, now realizing that in front of city hall was a statue of all of the fallen heroes, "we were never killed. This was all part of an attack by SAI."

"LIES!! I saw it with my own eyes. All of you, and even a black and white blue with green eyes, were killed," Damon proclaimed.

"If we were killed, than how are we standing here right before you," Aelita inquired.

"You are ghosts that continue to haunt my nightmares," Damon exclaimed.

"Damon, you have been in a coma for a month. Cid defeated you before we could deactivate that tower," Xavier stated.

"How can that be? I killed Cid. Then we all got transferred to a town called Amity Park. SAI had a base of operations around here and we came to shut her down. I saw it with my own two eyes," Damon shouted.

"Amity Park…wait, isn't that where Inviso-Bill resides," Xavier inquired.

"What do you mean 'Inviso-Bill?' There is no Inviso-Bill here. Only the chaos that was brought forth by SAI attacking and me losing control of my anger," Damon inquired.

"You know what they're saying is true," a voice called from the shadows.

"Who goes there," Damon demanded.

"You could say that I am you," the figure came out of the shadows. It indeed looked exactly like him, save for the glasses.

"Why do you look like me," Damon demanded.

"Because I am the personification of the wisdom inside your own mind, but you can just call me Wisdom," Wisdom stated.

"But that means that…" Damon started.

"Yes, light finally dawns in yonder window," Xavier said sarcastically.

"I was fucking bawling my guts out for nothing," Damon stated. He made to hug Erethyr, but she just backed away from him.

"How do I know that you really love me," Erethyr inquired, frowning.

"I only went berserk because SAI slew you. I was holding your dead body and crying for three days. If that means that I don't love you, then I don't know what does," Damon huffed as he turned his back on Erethyr and stormed off.

"Then that means that SAI did the same thing to me that she did to Damon," Erethyr proclaimed as she hit her head, "DAMON; WAIT UP!!!"

"How could she not have realized that one sooner," Wisdom asked.

"She can be pretty dense sometimes," Xavier stated.

"It is as if those two were made for one another," Aelita commented.

Erethyr caught up to Damon a few minutes later. "Wait, I didn't realize that SAI's subtlety until just now. I'm sorry for ever doubting you," Erethyr panted.

Damon turned to face her. "Your words really hurt you know."

"Not as much as I will," called a familiar voice.

Aelita, Xavier, and Wisdom ran up on them. "What the hell is that voice," Xavier yelled.

"Evil incarnate," Wisdom responded.

"Okay, that really doesn't help much," Aelita commented.

"It is the conglomerate of all of Damon's negative feelings given form. It is the very pinnacle of his rage," Wisdom explained.

"Why is it that I get the feeling that it isn't as easy as that," Xavier groaned.

"Because you are very perceptive; his mental images of SAI and Cid are still here," Wisdom stated.

"Well, we're fucking screwed. If this is really Damon's mind, and she decimated his mental images of us; then we are totally fucked. She will be too powerful for us to handle," Xavier said.

"Sorry, guys. I guess I really flipped out after SAI invaded my mind," Damon apologized.

"It's alright, you had no way of knowing," Erethyr said.

SAI, Cid, and Demon Damon all floated up to them. "So, you honestly think that we are going to let you take Damon away," SAI laughed.

"Then you'd be dead wrong," Cid stated.

"**And you will die for your insolence**," Demon Damon declared. He lunged at Aelita. She dodged his claws and fired an energy blast right in between his wings. He landed heavily on the ground, but just got back up and laughed at her. "**Puny little girl, who are you to think that you can defeat me?**"

Cid had pulled out his revolvers and was shooting at Xavier. Xavier shot his arrows as fast as he could; he was keeping dead even with Cid, neither side had the advantage in the firefight. "So, it looks like you have gotten better since the last time," Cid commented.

"I've got a friend in mortal danger right now; if you honestly didn't think that I wouldn't pull out all the stops, then you are dead wrong," Xavier declared.

SAI was trying to destroy Erethyr. "You are all mine," she jeered as she swung her sword down on Erethyr.

"I won't die by your hands nor anybody else's bitch," Erethyr shouted as she blocked and threw her own slashes. SAI blocked those attacks effortlessly. Erethyr used her rage power and the tables were turned on SAI. SAI was forced onto the defensive. Erethyr brought up her falchions and threw her aura at SAI in the form of arc blades. SAI threw her shield to block the attack; her shield was destroyed, but she remained unharmed.

"So, you know a few tricks. You do realize that I know some tricks too," SAI proclaimed as she started to glow silver. Erethyr tried to reestablish her rage power, but it just wouldn't work. Damon saw this and was struck by fear. All of his friends were fighting to save his life and there was nothing that he could do for them.

"That isn't true," Wisdom declared. Damon looked up at him in surprise. "I, and the other positive emotions, would be more than willing to fight alongside your friends to repel these negative thoughts."

"How many of you guys are left," Damon inquired.

"Just me, Hope, Happy, Love, and Brave I'm afraid," Wisdom answered.

"At least that should help out," Damon offered.

"Why don't you fight," Wisdom asked as he summoned the others.

"I'm afraid that I'm useless. It was thanks to me that they got into this mess to begin with," Damon responded, tears welling up in his eyes, "They're going to be defeated and it's all my fault." Damon pounded his fist on the ground. Demon Damon seemed to pulsate with newfound strength and knocked Aelita aside.

The other Damons came in with serious looks on their faces. They looked at each other and nodded as they attack Demon. They fought valiantly, but they were all knocked aside. Cid and Xavier were still in a stalemate. Cid had lost all of his ammo and was deflecting Xavier's arrows with his sword. Xavier was holding him back because the closer Cid got the less time he would have to react. Aelita was now dogfighting with Demon. Demon was shooting fireballs from his eyes while Aelita was shooting her energy balls. Their attacks were evenly matched in the air, neither could gain an advantage on the other. SAI had activated her own power; she was electrocuting Erethyr. Her screams of pain only brought more tears to Damon's eyes. There was nothing that he could do to save them. There was no hope.

Hope, a form of Damon with a yellow t-shirt, slowly got up and limped over to Damon. "Never give up. Just because you cannot banish those three or affect the landscape in any way, doesn't mean that you don't have power in here. This is still your mind," Hope told Damon.

Damon looked at him quizzically for a second before getting an idea. "If I can't think them away, then maybe I can give my friends the extra edge so that they can," Damon proclaimed as his mind started racing.

Aelita split into three different beings. She was momentarily confused by this, but she quickly realized what was happening. The three Aelitas started to perform complicated maneuvers, confusing Demon. They fired on him at different times, so as to keep him distracted. As long as he didn't know what was going on, he wouldn't be able to hit them.

Xavier's arrows started to divide into twenty arrows the second they left the bow. "Oh, come on," Cid groaned loudly as he was now forced to work harder to deflect the arrows. Within a matter of seconds, he was overcome. He just couldn't move fast enough to block all of the arrows. Xavier was still firing at the same blistering pace that he had been earlier, but now that every arrow became twenty he was easily firing one hundred arrows every three seconds. Cid's guard broke and he was instantly penetrated by ten arrows. As soon as they were buried within his flesh they exploded, leaving massive blood spatters all over the ground where he stood. Cid stood there panting for a moment before he collapsed onto the ground.

A shield formed all around Erethyr, stopping the electricity from reaching her. She collapsed on the ground panting as she started to transform. She wasn't going into her rage state, however. One of her scimitars disintegrated and the particles flew to her back to form soft pink-colored wings. Once the blade was gone, the hilt started to disintegrate as well. The particles from the hilt flew to her other scimitar, covering it with a soft pink glow. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing that they too were shining a soft pink. She picked herself off the ground and the shield dissipated. SAI stopped her electric attack, mesmerized by her angelic appearance; Erethyr had finally reached her rapture state.

SAI prepared to throw another electric bolt at her, but Erethyr was too quick for her. She quickly flew behind her and slashed at her with her remaining scimitar. SAI dodged the attack but was caught in Erethyr's finishing move for her rapture state. Time slowed down for everyone but Erethyr as she swooped down on her foe. She slashed at SAI at a blistering pace, leaving glowing marks where her blade hit. She then picked SAI up by the neck and flew high above the ground. She slung SAI to the ground, but before she could get halfway Erethyr had plunger her scimitar deep into her chest. The two hit the ground and Erethyr pulled her sword out. Time sped back up and the glowing marks on SAI exploded. She screamed in pain as Erethyr was reverted back to her original form with two scimitars. There was blood all around SAI as she fell silent, a glazed look in her eyes.

Demon just laughed and lava exploded from the ground, taking out Xavier, Erethyr, and even Aelita. He swooped down and picked up both SAI and Cid. "**Even in defeat, both of you shall still prove useful to me**," Demon exclaimed as he absorbed both of their bodies into his own. He glowed black with newfound strength as blood rained onto the fallen heroes.

"No, it still wasn't enough," Damon moaned, "I don't have anymore tricks up my sleeves."

"You still have one," Hope stated.

"What is that," Damon asked hopefully.

"You could always temporarily absorb the rest of us and enter your rapture state," Hope explained, "I know that it sounds like it has been done before by some seductively hot babe in a dark blue cloak, but it is our only chance."

"I'm game for anything at this point," Damon sighed as he gathered up his fallen emotions. They all glowed white for a second as they flew into him. He entered his absolute rapture state. He became not unlike an angel. He had white feathery wings. His hair had become as white as virgin snow. His clothes now all took a white appearance, with gold trim. His hair tie loosened itself from his hair and floated above his head, forming a halo. He opened his eyes to reveal that they had a golden cast to them.

"**So you are desperate enough to try and counteract me with that form. Pathetic**," Demon spat.

"_It is you that is pathetic. Boasting your superiority before the battle is even fought. That is truly pathetic_," Damon responded.

"**I shall make you regret those words**," Demon replied as he charged in.

"_We shall see about that_," Damon stated with a grin as he blocked Demon's attack offhandedly. The fight between good and evil truly began.

Demon howled with rage as he swiped furiously at Damon. Damon merely dodged each of these attacks before countering with his own. He landed a fierce uppercut on Demon, knocking him into the air. He then raced up ahead of Demon to knock him back down. Demon was expecting this and at the last moment, reached out and grabbed Damon's arms; he threw Damon towards the ground and dove in after him, ready to plunge his claws deep into his flesh. As soon as Damon hit the ground he flipped himself out of the way, allowing Demon to strike nothing but the ground.

Erethyr was the first to stir after Demon's devastating attack. She was amazed by what she saw before her. An angel was fighting a demon inside of Damon's mind. Aelita was the next to come around. She too was enthralled by what was unfolding before her. Xavier was the last to wake up. "Uhn, what hit me," he groaned as he started to sit up. When his eyes opened, he immediately pulled out his bow.

"I don't think that we will be able to do anything anymore, Xavier," Aelita stated.

"Well I'll be damned if I let the only person who believed in me when I was first trying to make amends with you guys fight alone," Xavier shouted as he fired his arrows at Demon. He took more time between his shots than he had against Cid so that he could gather more power before letting it loose. His arrows were actually making Demon grunt in pain.

Erethyr had a brilliant idea. "Hey, why don't we lend Xavier our strength? We might not be able to harm Demon alone, but together we might be able to."

"You know, that is actually a pretty damn good idea," Aelita admitted. Aelita and Erethyr both put their hands on Xavier's shoulders, allowing him to draw from their own strength.

Xavier felt this new wave of energy rush through him. "Thanks, both of you; now let's make this shot fucking count," Xavier exclaimed as he put everything that all three of them had to make one last arrow.

Demon and Damon were locked in a stalemate, neither one able to cause more damage than the other. That is when Demon got a massive strike to the back. That was all the opening that Damon needed. He put all of his strength into one final punch. He slammed Demon to the ground. When he landed, Demon had dispersed into all of the individual negative feelings. Damon then dispersed himself into all of the positive feelings. He walked up to a black sphere that was on the ground. It was pulsating evilly.

"The core of my darkness," Damon stated, "Without it, I wouldn't be able to use my Lyoko power…ever, save for in my mind. Once I figured out how to do it, I was able to overcome that restriction. It had been expelled from me when SAI attacked. Now, I shall take it back into myself, and absorb it into my own psyche, now and forever." Damon picked up the sphere and placed it against his chest. It melded into his own body and the landscape changed into the bustling city that it had once been.

"Wow, I guess that everything is going to be alright in here after all," Xavier declared.

"I'm going to create a portal in here so that you three can return to the real world. If you are in here when I wake up, you will all vanish…forever," Damon stated. The group was taken aback by this sudden comment, but all nodded with understanding. Damon created a swirling portal of white energy, and the four friends jumped through it.

* * *

The Hospital

* * *

Aelita, Xavier, and Erethyr all flew out of Damon's body and landed on the ground with a thud. "Is he going to be alright," one of the agents asked. 

Damon sat bolt upright and startled everybody in the room. "Why am I in a place that stinks of too much cleaning solution," Damon asked. Everybody just looked at him, mystified as to why that was the first thing he said after being in a month-long coma.

Aelita's cell phone rang. "Yes, daddy," she asked.

"We just lost track of your specters signal. Is everything alright," Franz asked concernedly.

"It's all good on this end. Damon has even woken up," Aelita declared. She heard a few whoops and hollers over the phone.

"Just get Damon over here as soon as you can so that we can have a celebration, alright Princess," Franz stated.

"I'll do my best dad," Aelita replied as she hung up.

"Who was that," Damon inquired.

"That was my dad. He would like it if we could get you out of this hospital ASAP for a welcome back party," Aelita explained.

"Ah, so that explains that vile odor," Damon quipped, getting laughs from everyone in the room.

"Well, if the matter of security is over, then we'd best get going," one of the agents declared.

"Thanks for all your help," Damon proclaimed.

"Hey, it was our pleasure to protect a notional hero such as yourself," another agent responded as all of the agents left the room.

"Now, if you will excuse me; I need to get changed, and I don't like changing in for an audience," Damon stated. The three took the hint and left the room. A few minutes later, Damon walked out of the room and the four friends walked to the factory for a night of fun and merriment.

* * *

SAI's Orb

* * *

SAI sniffed, "Who knew that I could catch a cold…ACHOOOO!!!!" 

"Damn you," Cid quipped, "I guess that's why it's called a 'computer virus.'"

"Just shut up," SAI stated as she tried to get some rest.


	23. Breaking Point

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko…you have no idea just how hard it is to retreat when Ulrich is chasing you.

A/N: YAY! Not only have I hit the 1000 hit mark, but I got two reviews and I've been favorited again! I would like to thank ShadowGirdo, KatNGoomi, and Mata-Nui3000 respectively. In ShadowGirdo's review he thought that Damon was too powerful and that none of the characters had developed psychologically. I too had realized that Damon was getting really powerful, which is why I put him into a coma for a little bit. As for the psychological development, that last chapter was actually setting the stage for it. I had actually planned on it before I got your review man, but thanks for pointing it out anyway. Those are the kind of reviews that I look forward to. Realize, however, that Damon has lived a tough life; so he knows how to hide his pain really well. But he is just about to reach his breaking point. All of you faithful readers will indeed be seeing that in this chapter. Now that I have that out of the way, onto the story. Please R&R, if you don't I will mimic El Kabong on all of you.

* * *

It is the day after the Damon has been awoken from his coma. Everything seems normal, except for Damon seeming to avoid contact with Erethyr. She is getting worried about this, as is the rest of the group. After a few hours, she decides to confront Damon about it. 

"Damon," Erethyr inquired, "Why are you trying to avoid me?"

"I thought that you could figure that one out for yourself. Oh, wait…that's right; you had to have it pointed out to you that SAI was trying to trick you in your own mind," Damon replied coldly.

"You're still upset about that, huh," Erethyr asked quietly.

"Damn right I am! You doubted me," Damon yelled, "You know that I love you with all my heart and soul, but you still doubted as to whether or not I actually loved you, and why?! Because SAI but a shadow of doubt in your mind, and you weren't able to figure out on your own that she was just trying to trick you!"

"If you had seen the way that you and her kissed, you would have had doubts too," Erethyr responded. She had not seen Damon this upset for a while. It actually frightened her that she was the subject of it.

"No, I wouldn't have," Damon shouted, "SAI was involved, SAI! You should instantly have made a connection that since SAI was involved; it had to be a trick!"

"You were upset too when she attacked your mind," Erethyr stated, trying to defend herself.

"That's because I didn't think that I had lost that fight! I thought that everything that was happening was real," Damon responded, getting angrier by the second.

"But…" Erethyr said.

"But nothing! If you are honestly having doubts about our relationship," Damon shouted, "Maybe we shouldn't have one!"

Erethyr was scared by his comment. "What are you saying," she asked incredulously.

"Can't you even figure that one out on your own," Damon declared, "Then I'll spell it out for you. We…are…over! I don't want a girlfriend that can't even realize just how much I love her!"

Erethyr ran away, her hands over her face in an attempt to hide her tears. A tear also came to Damon's eye, but he ignored it and continued doing his own thing.

Erethyr ran all the way up to her room with Aelita. She flopped onto her bed and lay there, bawling. Aelita had heard their little spat; she went up to their room to try and comfort her.

"I can't believe that he actually broke up with me over this SAI business," Erethyr cried into her pillow.

Aelita sat down beside her and ran her fingers through Erethyr's hair. Erethyr hugged her and kept on bawling into her shoulder. "Shh, shh; it's alright. He just needs his space right now. I think that you hurt a lot more deeply than anything that SAI could have done," Aelita said quietly.

"But he broke up with me! How do you think that makes me feel," Erethyr asked hysterically.

"I think that you are pretty torn up about this," Aelita said, "He may have had a point about you not seeing SAI's trick for what it really was, but he took it to the extreme by breaking up with you over it."

Erethyr just bawled louder. By now, Aelita was drenched in her tears. "But (sniff) if he had (sniff) seen it, he (sniff) would (sniff) have had doubts too," Erethyr stated, trying to justify herself.

"I know," Aelita said, trying to soothe her, "I think that I'm going to have a little talk to him about this." Erethyr went back to bawling into her pillow while Aelita got up and walked out of the room. The bell rang so she had to hurry to make it back to class.

Damon wasn't in their science class. Aelita was getting worried; if she didn't talk to him soon, she didn't know what would happen. He wasn't in any of his classes for the rest of the day, either. After school she decided to tell the rest of the group what had happened between them.

* * *

"He did WHAT," Yumi said incredulously. 

"I'm going to fucking kill him," Xavier declared.

"Why is that? What did he do to you that could piss you off that bad," Ulrich inquired.

"He fucking hurt Erethyr, that's what," Xavier fumed.

"Don't tell me that you like her," Odd groaned.

"And what if I do," Xavier stated. Xavier glared daggers at Odd. He got a shiver up his spine.

"Break it up you two," Aelita shouted, putting herself between Odd and Xavier, "Listen, what Erethyr really needs now is a guy that she can tell anything. Ulrich, Jeremie, Odd, and William: you are automatically counted out. That only leaves Xavier."

"But wouldn't that make me the rebound guy," Xavier asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Aelita replied, "Now, what we need to do is find Damon. I've already tried calling him, and he's not picking up. Let's fan out and find him."

"If I find him, there won't be anything left," Xavier muttered. The group split up in an attempt to find out where Damon went. Yumi and Ulrich decided to check by Damon's house. Odd and William decided to search the park. Jeremie, Aelita, and Xavier decided that they should check out the factory.

* * *

The Factory

* * *

"Do you think that you can do it, Franz," Damon asked. 

"Removing your rapture power and weakening your rage ability could be pretty risky; especially since your rapture power is tied to Erethyr's rage ability," Franz responded.

"But also realize, the group relies too hard on just us two. If you take out the extra powers, then we'd be a more balanced team," Damon argued.

"I see your point. Hop into the scanner and we'll do it. We only need one of you in order to complete the process," Franz replied. Damon went down into the scanner room and went into a scanner. In a matter of minutes the process was completed. Damon stumbled out of the scanner, feeling completely drained.

"How did it go Franz," Damon shouted.

"It was a success. Both you and Erethyr have been successfully powered down," Franz responded.

"Awesome," Damon cried, "Well, I've got to head back to the school and find out what I missed."

"Take care, Damon," Franz proclaimed.

"You too," Damon replied. He went into the elevator and went to the ground floor. Unluckily for him, one of the search parties was waiting for him.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, a hand was on his throat. "How could you do that to Erethyr," Xavier demanded, "No thanks to you, she's been in her room, crying all day; just because you broke up with her. Thanks a lot, asshole."

"He's right you know. You didn't have to yell at her," Jeremie said.

"You should really think about the group dynamic more often. Think about how this is going to completely change everything, just because of one of SAI's tricks," Aelita berated him.

"I was thinking about the group dynamic," Damon defended himself, struggling to get a breath, "Think about it! How many times have your asses been saved because she went berserk over me getting devirtualized?"

The three of them thought about it for a second. He had a valid point. They decided to let him continue speaking.

"Now also think back to just how many times that I've put my neck on the line in order to save all of you. How many times have I ended being the one to save the day? And out of those times, how many of them has anybody else in the group lifted a finger to help me," Damon inquired.

They thought about this for a second. He still had a very valid point. They were relying on him a lot. Just about every single time that he was involved, he did have to do most of the brunt work.

"I left school today so that I could have my powers dumbed down. Unfortunately, this also ended up erasing Erethyr's rage ability. This was unforeseen, but it is for the best. Now we can fight as a well balanced team; not just 'Erethyr and Damon are here. Let's just sit back and relax while they do everything.' Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got make-up work to pick up," Damon declared. Xavier begrudgingly let him down. Damon rubbed his neck and left the factory.

"I'll call the others and let them know everything," Jeremie stated.

* * *

Back At The School

* * *

The group watched as Damon went home without even talking to them. "Wow, I can't believe how detached he's getting," Yumi stated. 

"Yeah, he's acting worse than he did when he first entered the group," Odd stated.

"He did have good points, though," Ulrich stated. The entire group turned to look at him. "He may have gone a little bit extreme to depower both him and Erethyr, but we have been relying on those two a lot lately."

"Yeah," Odd stated, "Then there was that bet that we placed on who would win when SAI attacked."

"Woah, you guys actually placed a bet on that," William declared incredulously.

"Yeah, why," Ulrich asked.

"No wonder he's so pissed off. I know that if that had happened to me, I probably wouldn't want to be your friends for a while," William responded.

"Then there was the time we went to recover my orb," Xavier added.

"Yeah, that is true," Jeremie stated, "The entire crux of the plan was him going onto the dragon's head and pulverizing it. Then he got flipped into the air."

"And I went to go save him, but I stopped when he was glowing red and came crashing down on the dragon," Aelita commented.

"The metal monster," Yumi said.

"He pushed me out of the way and almost got killed," Ulrich stated.

"His mind," Aelita said.

"Let's discount that one. If it hadn't been for us, his mind would probably have been destroyed," Xavier stated.

"Yeah, but in the end he still had to save our asses," Aelita countered.

"Alright," Xavier sighed, "I'll give you that one."

"Cid," Jeremie said simply.

"He got left behind because of his damn hydrophobia. When it stopped Erethyr and I were there to help him. Erethyr did very little because of her hemophobia, but I did everything I could to help. Cid was only interested in defeating Damon, though. If he hadn't been there, it would have been Erethyr that got killed instead of him being in a coma," Xavier explained.

"He might just need some space," Yumi reasoned.

Jeremie's laptop started beeping. "No time for that," Odd declared, "We've got to round up both him and Erethyr. There's probably some trouble on Lyoko."

Xavier rushed off to get Erethyr while Yumi went off to fetch Damon. They were both unwilling, but they decided to go anyway. About fifteen minutes later, they were on Lyoko in the desert region.

* * *

Lyoko

* * *

There was a great deal of tension within the group. Damon and Erethyr were trying their hardest not to look at one another. Xavier was trying his hardest to resist the urge to kick Damon's ass. Aelita and Yumi were at the ready to break up any fights. William and Ulrich were feeling empathy towards Damon, but he thought that Damon might have gone too far. Odd was trying to relieve the tension. Jeremie was trying to keep the group focused on what they were supposed to be doing. 

"Guys, we have a job to do here," Jeremie proclaimed, sounding very exasperated at all of the drama. The group begrudgingly nodded their assent and went to the activated tower. All around them were a vast series of sandy plateaus with rocks scattered about them. They could barely make out the activated tower in the distance. They ran there as fast as they could and were not surprised by all of the forces laid out before them. Even SAI and Cid decided to make an appearance.

"Well, well, well; looks like the gang's all here," SAI jeered, "I might just win this war."

"What do you want SAI," Xavier shouted.

"I just wanted to show all of you my new toy," SAI declared, "That is, if you can defeat the already present army."

William and Ulrich went charging in headfirst, cutting a swath in the enemies. Yumi, Odd, Aelia, Xavier, and Jeremie were on long range back up. Erethyr and Damon were just standing there, like nothing was happening. That is when Erethyr decided to speak up.

"Why did you do it," she asked quietly.

"I already told you, I don't want a girlfriend that can be easily swayed like that," Damon replied, the slightest bit of malice in his voice.

"I'm not talking about that," Erethyr said, her voice starting to rise, "Why did you take away part of my power without my permission?"

"They were depending solely on us to sway the tide of a battle," Damon replied coldly, "I simply made it to where we couldn't be unstoppable killing machines anymore."

"You say that I hurt you by not trusting in you," Erethyr shouted, "But you have hurt me far worse! Can't you see how much I've been through for you! Whose idea was it that brought you out of Xavier's control? Mine! Who was it that was worried sick when you had a nervous breakdown and tried to commit suicide? Me! Who was it that wanted to be a real girl just so that she could be with you? Me! Who was it that went to the hospital everyday that she could while you were in a coma? Me! Who was it that spent the entire day crying just because you broke up with her? Me! Who was it that had one of her powers taken away because of your selfishness? ME! I swear, I don't even know you anymore."

Damon was taken aback by her scathing comments. She had a few points, but he didn't want to hurt her anymore. That was why he had really broken up with her. She meant everything to him, and if she was that heartbroken after he had broken up with her to protect her, he had very few options left open to him.

"Why can't you think of anybody else besides yourself," Erethyr screamed.

A part of Damon shattered at her last remark. He started to get angry. "If you really feel that way, then why don't you go out with Xavier," Damon yelled.

"Maybe I will," Erethyr yelled back. She covered her mouth in surprise after saying this, but the damage had already been done.

"If you will just go on to the next guy that easily, then I should have never asked you out in the first place," Damon screamed. He ran away from her and entered the melee, flying into a blind rage. He didn't even care if he got hit; he just wanted to vent his anger on something.

"Oh, Damon," Erethyr whispered, a tear coming to her eye. Within minutes, the entire armada of enemies that SAI had created was destroyed. SAI could only look in surprise. She couldn't figure out why if he was that angry, he didn't transform into something more demonic looking. That's when it hit her.

"Looks like my plan is coming together better than I ever imagined possible," SAI thought to herself, "With just the slightest push, I've managed to completely tear apart two of my enemies, maybe more. I only meant for there to be a large amount of stress within my enemies. But now I see that I've done this much damage by planting the slightest doubt into her mind. This couldn't be any more perfect." She saw Aelita making a mad dash for the tower.

SAI snapped her fingers. Before she could even make it halfway there, a familiar black dragon thudded onto the ground, effectively stopping her from making any more progress to the tower. "Now the real fun begins," SAI laughed.

"Not this again," Ulrich groaned. He went for one of the dragon's legs and began hacking away again. William took up the same position that he had last time, hacking away at the dragon's belly. The dragon just gave a deep laugh at their pitiful efforts, but didn't try to stop them. It was only interested in testing their abilities.

Aelita and Yumi both heard the dragon laugh. "This can't be the same dragon that we faced a couple of months ago, can it," they both asked.

"I'm afraid not," Xavier stated, his head glowing red, "She's modified it to take away most of its weaknesses by giving it no other forms. What you see is what you get."

"This is bad," Erethyr proclaimed as she saw Damon ferociously climbing up the dragon's back. The dragon paid him no mind until he was in its face. The dragon just effortlessly flicked him into the air and opened its mouth. Before anybody could react, it snapped Damon up and swallowed.

"DAMON," Xavier yelled, "Fuck man, I didn't really want you to die! I just wanted to hurt you for hurting Erethyr!" He pounded his fist onto the ground.

"Something tells me that your power can give you information that you normally shouldn't have," Jeremie stated.

"You'd be right," Xavier stated, "Once Damon hits the dragon's stomach, it's permanent game over. There will be no devirtualization, only oblivion."

"WHAT," Erethyr shouted. She got pissed off and ran to his aid. She got up to the dragon and drove her scimitars into its leg. The dragon grunted in pain.

"How can you harm me, little one," the dragon rumbled, "My scales should prevent any attacks from harming me."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," was Erethyr's only reply as she clawed up to the dragon's neck. She started to hack furiously at its neck, making a slight cut below the lump that was Damon.

"Everybody, fire your weapons at that opening," Xavier shouted, "It may be our only chance to save Damon!" All of the projectile users started to open fire on the opening that Erethyr had made. It only opened a little bit wider, but they suddenly stopped. They could see a hand emerging from the wound. Damon ripped himself out of the dragon's throat, and pulled part of its esophagus out with him. The dragon was gasping for air, it couldn't breath. Damon decided to finish it off by strangling it with its own innards. The group just stood there, amazed, as the dragon exploded in a cloud of silver smoke.

Damon just stood there shivering before saying, "It happened again. No matter what I try, I always end up being the one that saves everyone!"

"Damon, I-" Erethyr started to say, putting her hand on his shoulder. He turned around and slapped her face. She backed up and held her hand up to where he had just hit her. She was shocked that he would do such a thing.

"And you…you have betrayed me for the last time! I can't even try to protect you by pushing you away without getting hurt," Damon shouted, "Well, no more. I've had it with always being the one that has to save everyone else! I've had it with not being able to do anything without hurting you more! I'VE JUST HAD IT," Damon shouted as he ran for the edge of the plateau.

"NO, DON'T DO IT DAMON," Xavier shouted.

"He isn't about to jump into the virtual sea, is he," Yumi asked incredulously.

"He is unless we stop him," Xavier responded tersely as he fired an arrow at him. He simply dodged it and got to the edge of the plateau, jumping off without a second thought.

Aelita ran after him, pressing the star-shaped bracelet on her wrist to sprout wings. She flew after him, just trying to reach him before he hit the digital sea, but she was too late. Before she could get halfway there, he hit. He made a very small splash, and then there was an explosion underwater as his virtual being was disintegrated.

"DAMON, NO," Erethyr shouted as she tried to run after him. Ulrich and William had to hold her back.

"There's nothing you can do for him," Ulrich stated, "He's gone forever!"

"No, don't say that," Erethyr responded hysterically, "He can't be gone! He's just floating there, waiting for one of us to go down and get him!" Nobody had even seen Yumi and Aelita run up to them. Xavier fell to his knees, hit by the gravity of the situation. Jeremie just stood there, in a state of shock.

SAI and Cid were also surprised. "Methinks that now would be a good time to depart, Lady SAI."

"I think that you would be right," SAI replied, also in shock. Even she hadn't begun to dream that Damon would take his life. She deactivated the tower and disappeared with Cid.

Franz devirtualized the entire group, Erethyr first. In the scanner room, she was on the floor crying, "It's all my fault! He's gone and it's all my fault!" Aelita and Yumi took the distraught girl up to the computer room.

"He isn't gone is he," Erethyr said through sobs hopefully.

"I'm sorry, the only thing that could bring him back is the materialization program, which Xavier disabled on his way out as a security measure," Aelita said.

"I never thought that anything like this could happen," Xavier stated in disbelief, "He seemed so strong; as if nothing could faze him."

"No, I think that he just finally reached his breaking point," Jeremie said, "I think that he had finally had enough and did the only thing that he could think of to escape…suicide. He tried it once before, but we managed to stop him in time. This time, we could only watch in horror. There was nothing that we could do." Jeremie pounded his fist on the wall, and immediately started shaking it, gasping in pain.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news," Franz stated, "But we just missed our window of opportunity. I just lost track of his virtual essence. I don't think that there is anything that could bring him back now."

Erethyr sobbed into Aelita's shoulder, drenching it with tears again. "I think that the only reason why I was able to be brought back was the immediate return to the past," Yumi offered, shuddering as she remembered the emptiness that had enveloped her when she had fallen into the digital sea, almost two years prior.

The group just stood there, a gloom hanging over the air. "So, how are going to explain to the school and his parents what happened," Ulrich asked.

"All we can say is that he fell into the digital sea, and we had no way to bring him back before he-" Jeremie choked on the last word.

"disappeared," Yumi whispered, a tear coming from her eye.

"We should tell his parents first," Xavier said, "They have the most right to know."

"So who will be the bearer of bad news," William asked.

"I will," Erethyr sobbed, "It's mostly my fault that he jumped, so I should."

"Don't beat yourself up like that Erethyr," Odd tried to comfort her.

"You know that it's true," Erethyr shouted, "It's almost entirely my fault that he jumped! If I hadn't doubted him in the first place none of this would have happened! And if I hadn't said those things on Lyoko, he might still be here!"

"What happened," Ulrich inquired hesitantly.

"We were having an argument; I called him selfish, then he said that maybe I should date Xavier if I felt like that. I stupidly yelled 'Maybe I will' and then he rushed off to fight the dragon. This is all my fault," Erethyr shouted as she started sobbing again.

"I think that I'll tell his parent," Xavier said, "If you actually think about it, this is all my fault for dragging him into this in the first place. I should be the one to tell them. Yumi, since you are the only other one here that can keep a level head, why don't you tell the principal."

"Sounds good," Yumi said morosely as they entered the elevator and went off to tell their respective people.

"This is a sad day in the fight to save the Earth," Odd grimaced, "We have just lost one of our own over an accumulation of events. I guess he really did reach his breaking point."

"Let's get some rest," William said, "I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day." The group nodded and led Erethyr out of the factory and into her dorm. Nobody in the group slept peacefully that night; all of them had nightmares about Damon's final moments.

* * *

SAI's Orb

* * *

SAI held a small diamond in her hand. It had a large crack in it. "I can't believe it," she stated. 

"What can't you believe," Cid stated.

"That after all of that, I wasn't the one to actually take out my worst enemy," SAI responded, "At least I didn't come out of it empty handed."

"What's that," Cid asked, fearful of her answer.

"This," SAI replied with a malicious grin, "Is the very core of Damon's being."


	24. Reminiscing

Dislaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. My latest army of robotic hippie simians was defeated by the very alluring Yumi. Oh, and Odd was there too.

A/N: Hooray! We're at the beginning of a brand spanking new chapter. Last chapter had a fairly dark ending, just the way I wanted it to be. I showed that Damon had indeed reached his breaking point and couldn't keep it in anymore. I may have gone a little bit too far by having him jump off into the virtual sea, but his contract was up. I did leave a heavy hint as to what future chapters might hold, however. Now, in this chapter, I will be dealing with the emotional backlash of Damon jumping into the virtual sea. I know that this seems like a complete one-eighty from my usual train of thought, but it must be done. Now here is a very heartfelt chapter twenty four. Please R&R, or I will be forced to use lethal farts.

* * *

The entire group was in a state of shock the next morning. They had all been hoping that what had happened the day before was just a very bad nightmare. But it was all true. Damon was gone, forever. He had broken down from the stress of always being the one saving everybody and loving Erethyr. Her heart was especially heavy. She had been the one to give him that final shove over the edge of madness. By now the entire school had heard about what had happened to Damon, so a dark cloud seemed to hang over the entire school. Classes were cancelled, in order to mourn for the loss of a national hero; Damon, whom had saved all of them from certain death more than just once. 

The group was hanging out by one of the benches in the schoolyard. People were milling about, talking quietly amongst themselves. They all had the same topic in their conversations: Damon. The Lyoko warriors were no different.

"I can't believe that he's actually gone," Odd muttered.

"He seemed so unperturbed during the party," Jeremie said.

"He wasn't," Erethyr declared. The group turned to look at her.

"What do you mean," William asked.

"You know," Odd joked, "I think that question has to be the single most asked question in our entire group. It has to be our catchphrase or something." A slight chuckle escaped the group.

"He has been hiding all the pain he has been feeling inside from the rest of us for quite some time," Erethyr explained, "He overheard the bet while he was fighting SAI. That was when he really started to get stressed out."

"Oh man," Ulrich groaned, slapping his forehead, "He actually heard that."

"Yeah, he did," Erethyr confirmed, "He was never really been able to hide his inner suffering from me. I could make out what was going on in his head from looking in his eyes. After SAI attacked, he seemed to grow a little bit more distant. He was still willing to fight alongside us, but he just didn't want to be the center of attention anymore. He just never had a choice in the matter. That was what really bogged him down."

"So when he got attacked by Cid," Yumi inquired, "he was nearing his breaking point?"

"Yes," Erethyr confirmed, "I could see it in the way he fought. He would never pick up a sword unless he had no other choice. Normally, he'd be more than happy to fight an armed opponent with nothing but his bare hands. But he was put on the spotlight once again. That was why he picked up the sword." Tears were now streaming from Erethyr's eyes as she remembered that day. The day that her heart was first broken. She had been unable to help him. Her own fears got in the way of saving him when he most needed her.

Xavier hugged Erethyr, rubbing her back in an attempt to soothe her. "Shh, shh; it's okay, just let it all out," he said quietly, tears escaping his own eyes. He was also thinking back to that day. If only he had shot an arrow into Cid's head when Erethyr had locked back up, maybe none of this would have happened.

The entire group fell silent as they reminisced about times when they felt that they had each failed Damon. Odd remembered the metal monster. How Damon had told him to run. Instead of staying to fight, he had bolted with Erethyr.

Ulrich also remembered the metal monster. How Damon had pushed him out of the way to safe his life, and how Damon almost got killed in the process. He did try to save him, but he just couldn't quite do it. He could still hear the crack when Damon's ribcage had started to give way. He also remembered when SAI attacked. It had been him that made that bet with the crabs. It was because of his stupid bet that Damon's psyche had started to give way.

Jeremie remembered when he had hosted a crash course on the use of the super computer. A polymorphic specter had attacked, and Damon had been there to save him from certain death. Damon had almost gotten himself killed, just to save him.

Yumi remembered when Damon had first opened up to the group, more specifically her. It had been because of her prying that he had almost committed suicide. She had taken the opportunity of Damon opening up to her, and started asking him questions. When he started to get emotional, she had said that she understood. He ran off and almost committed suicide because of her inquisitiveness.

Aelita couldn't help but think back to when Xavier had first tried to join the group. She hadn't really failed him, but she doubted his judgment. He had been right, of course, but she was sorry to have ever doubted him. She also thought of the two times that she had failed to catch him. Once with the dragon, then once again when he jumped into the digital sea.

William hadn't really known him all that long, so he couldn't think of a time that he had ever failed him as a friend. He had attacked Damon plenty of times as an enemy, but he had never failed Damon as a friend. He was hurt nonetheless by his death, however.

Xavier remembered the times that he had failed Damon. First, he had taken control of Damon in an attempt to preserve himself. He had unwittingly brought all of this down on Damon. Second, there was the assault to get his orb. His entire battle plan had focused around him getting to the dragon's head. He had put Damon, the one guy that was willing to give him a second chance when no one else would. Third, he hadn't taken that last shot on Cid when he had the chance. He had been the cause of Damon going into that coma. Fourth, he had failed to truly help out in Damon's mind. Sure, he delivered the blow that allowed Damon to defeat his inner demon, but he had still been fairly useless in that fight. Lastly, it had been because of him that Damon had jumped into the digital sea. It was because he liked Erethyr that his name had been brought into their final argument. He felt as though out of the entire group, most of the blame rested on his shoulders for Damon's death; from beginning to end, he had been the central cause of Damon's hardships.

Erethyr felt as though she had a heavy burden on her heart as well. It had been because of their lover's quarrels that he had been pushed over the edge. She has doubted how much that he had really loved her. She was the one that confronted him about snubbing her. She had been the one that had agreed to go out with Xavier, in anger. She hadn't seen how he was trying to protect her. Erethyr felt like all this had been her fault for breaking his heart too many times in two day's time.

All of them inwardly agreed on one way that they had failed Damon: SAI's assault on Earth. He had to come in and save all their asses from certain death. They had been completely helpless to stop SAI. Damon risked his own life to save all of theirs. They were all crying to varying degrees. They, his closest friends, had been the cause of the downward spiral that had caused his untimely demise.

They decided to go to the cafeteria to eat lunch. They knew that something was especially wrong when Odd only grabbed a helping the same size as the rest of them had. This was a dark time for the Lyoko warriors.

"Well, I for one am glad that he's gone," Sissi jeered, "There has been way too much drama in this school since he appeared. Just one big attack after another; maybe know we can all just go back to our normal lives." Everybody but her saw what was coming next.

Erethyr had lunged at Sissi once again. She slammed Sissi to the ground, tears streaming from her eyes, and hissed, "You take that back, you little bitch!"

"And why do you care? He broke up with you. He intentionally broke your heart," Sissi inquired. When Erethyr's fist connected with her face, she realized that she had just said the wrong thing.

"I will not allow you to disgrace his memory," Erethyr yelled as she continued to beat the shit out of Sissi. Jim came up and forcibly separated the two.

"Fighting on school grounds, do you honestly think that Damon would want that," Jim asked Erethyr.

She hung her head in shame. She knew that Jim was right; Damon wouldn't have wanted her to beat Sissi senseless over him.

"As for you, Elizabeth," Jim turned to Sissi, "You intentionally antagonized her. You knew that they are feeling pretty miserable right about now, but you just couldn't help but kick some one when they're down. Even going so far as to tarnish the image of one that saved your life; you'll be lucky to see the light of day for the next year."

"Just wait 'til my father hears about this," Sissi proclaimed in outrage.

"I have heard everything," Principal Delmas stated, walking up to the trio. Sissi visibly blanched. She knew that she was in deep shit now.

"Erethyr, you did overreact; but in light of the current situation, I will let it slide this time," Principal Delmas said, "As for you, young lady. You have crossed the line. You will be grounded for the next two months, alongside your four hours of detention for the next three. Do you understand?"

"But," Sissi tried to argue. She was shocked; her father had never once punished her like this before.

"There will be no buts. You have made one mistake too many today. I have made up my mind," Principal Delmas declared, pointing to the door. Jim let her down, and she slowly trudged back up to her room.

"You know," Odd said, "It was almost worth it to see the look on Sissi's face. If only Damon were here, he would be laughing his ass off right now." Odd's attempt to relieve the tension only served to worsen it. The day continued one along those lines, with the entire school seeming to be in a deep funk over Damon's death.

* * *

SAI's Orb

* * *

"What 'cha doing," Cid asked, he was now given permission to walk around the room. SAI was through experimenting on him, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to escape from the accursed orb without outside help. He also knew that if he killed SAI, he would be deleted in the resulting explosion from her orb being wiped out. He had decided to try and get information out of her in case he ever got out of here. 

"I'm currently writing the millions of lines of code that will enable me to recreate Damon as I see him," SAI replied.

"Why are you so interested in remaking him? Just last week, weren't you dead set on killing him," Cid inquired.

"Yes," SAI answered, "But now I've been given a golden opportunity. What better way for me to get my revenge than by having him do away with his former friends?"

"What are you planning," Cid asked apprehensively.

"I was examining the diamond that I extracted from his jump into the digital sea. I was amazed to find out that his personality is completely intact along with his knowledge of how to fight. Unfortunately, his body and mind were completely destroyed. What I'm going to do is redesign him. He will have absolutely no memory of his past life, so he'll think that I'm his only friend," SAI explained.

"You are a sick and twisted bitch, SAI," Cid stated.

"Why thank you," SAI answered cordially, "But the best part is that he will no longer be human! He'll be an A.I, just like me! I might need to rename him, however. This is going to be slightly harder than I thought." She scratched her head as she tried to come up with a good name for him.

"Now you're just being downright despicable," Cid declared, "You're completely screwing somebody up just to get revenge at him! He won't even be Damon anymore when you're through with him! You won't exactly be getting your revenge on him if he isn't really Damon anymore!"

"He won't be Damon in mind or body anymore, but he will still be Damon in spirit," SAI countered, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a very complicated program to run, so just run off and talk with the scyphozoa again. What did you name it anyway?"

"Its name is Donjuan," Cid stated.

"Ah yes, just go off and play with Donjuan," SAI dismissed him. Cid decided that may actually be a good idea. He might even be able to get Donjuan to deliver another message to the Lyoko group. They were his only chance to escape.

"Now," SAI grinned, "Let's begin, shall we?"


	25. Reawakening Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. No thanks to those meddling kids, and their dog too.

A/N: Welcome, to chapter 25. The last chapter was just dealing with the emotional effects of Damon jumping into the digital sea. As you saw, Erethyr and Xavier felt the most responsible-which they are, but that's besides the point. This chapter has been named because of what is happening within it. Beware, this is a two parter. The names in italics are copies of the people that they are impersonating. I'm pleased that I'm getting more reviews now. It is a change of pace from the previous month. This chapter and the next are dedicated to my number one fan, KatNGoomi. If anybody has any hate mail for me, please send them to me. I will personally name all of you in upcoming chapters so that I can publicly tell each and every one of you to fuck off. Now that my personal threat is out of the way, please R&R. I have a horde of ninja gerbil commandoes at the ready for all of those that don't.

* * *

Sai's Orb

* * *

"Cid, why don't you just go play with Donjuan for a while. I'm setting up my sector guardians to protect the towers that I'm going to have to activate to start the procedure. This is going to get very tricky," SAI declared. 

"Alright, but I still say that you're an evil bitch," Cid stated as he left the room. He gave Donjuan a message to get to Franz Hopper ASAP. In the message, he stated was SAI was trying to do, and that it would be best not to interfere with the process. It was the only way to get Damon back.

Donjuan bobbed up and down giddily as he left to deliver his message. At the same time, SAI activated one tower in each sector in Lyoko so that she would have access to the necessary resources to do what she wanted. She started the procedure.

The diamond on the table floated up into the air as she gave it the orders for Damon's recreation. "Create body, with two cloths over it for the time being." The diamond glowed white as it did just that. Damon was lying on the table; unconscious and unclothed save for the clothes protecting his decency.

"My, my; he certainly is a big boy. Better get some clothes on him. A white sleeveless shirt, white cargo pants, white fingerless gloves, and a necklace with teeth on it; no shoes, however; shoes would not complement this outfit. Yeah, that sounds great. Create outfit as described," SAI commanded. The diamond glowed again as it made the cloths stretch over Damon's body, covering him with the clothes that had been chosen for him.

"Now, that looks cool. Let's see; that hair looks good, but it's missing something," SAI pondered, then she snapped her fingers, "Of course, it needs to be snow-flecked! That means that his eyes will have to be ice blue. Create hair and eyes as described." The diamond glowed again, following her commands. Damon's hair was still black with red tips, but it was now snow-flecked. His eyes remained closed while the procedure was taking place.

"Now, let's redesign his powers. I don't think that his rage power will complement his current form. How about if he could create an unbreakable ice armor around himself; that's too powerful, though. What if it slowly drained his life points to use it? Yeah, that makes sense, after all it is made out of ice so it would be very cold. The rate will be one life point per second. Yeah, that sounds perfect. Configure Lyoko power to one that has just been described," SAI commanded. The diamond glowed again and so did Damon. When his powers were reconfigured, the diamond floated over to SAI and dropped into her hand.

She looked at it closely. The diamond now seemed to be more alive then it had been not a half hour earlier. She was puzzled by two things, however. The first was that it looked like the crack had partly healed itself. She decided that it must be because he now had a body, but he still didn't have his original memories, the one thing that she didn't want him to have. She decided to keep a hold of the diamond for now.

The second thing that was bothering her was that the Lyoko warriors hadn't come to deactivate the towers yet. The entire recreation process had taken her a half an hour to complete. She had expected them to at least be here by now. She sensed that the scyphozoa, Donjuan, had left for a few minutes. She decided that it just needed to stretch its tentacles. It could get cramped in here, especially now that she had another person in her orb.

SAI turned to Damon and said, "Wake up, Ymir. C'mon, don't tell me those meddling interlopers hurt you that badly."

Damon's eyes flashed open, revealing that they were now indeed ice blue. "What did you call me," Damon said, holding his hand against his head as if he had a headache.

"Ymir, that's your name, honey," SAI cooed.

"Uhn, my head hurts. Why is that? And why can't I remember anything," Ymir asked.

"Wow, those pests really pulled a number on you," SAI said consolingly, "If you can't remember anything, maybe I could help you out. My name is SAI, and I'm your best friend in the virtual world. Maybe someday we could be more."

Ymir got the idea that this woman in front of him, that seemed to like silver, was hitting on him. "Maybe someday," he smiled.

"Let's go to one of the other rooms in here so that I can teach you how to use your power, maybe we could even see if you've still got your touch when it comes to fighting," SAI said.

"Actually, that sound good right about now," Ymir admitted, "I think I need to stretch out all the kinks in my body." He walked with her into the next room. It had sparring dummies everywhere, each of which had a form that seemed almost familiar to him; he just couldn't place where he had seen each of them before.

"Let's start you off with the simplest in both mind and body out of those that hurt you so much," SAI declared. She walked over to one that looked like a cat, but it also looked like a boy. SAI activated it, and it transformed before his very eyes into _Odd_.

Ymir got an image of a boy wearing a lot of purple stuffing his face in a cafeteria flashed through his mind when he saw the dummy transform. He quickly shook the image out of his head before assuming a fighting stance. The dummy came at him, firing dart-like projectiles at him. Ymir seemed to slide out of the way as he closed the gap. Once he got up close, the boy tried to flip out of the way. Ymir simply punched him. The figure flew a few feet away and staggered to get up. Ymir ran up to him and punched his face. The dummy went unconscious and transformed back into its original state.

"Let me guess," Ymir stated, "All of these dummies are the people that caused me to forget everything."

"You guessed it," SAI said cheerfully. He was actually falling for her string of lies. She was in a euphoric state. She might even be able to cause more trauma in the group if she played he cards right. "Here's the next one." She activated the one that became _William_.

An image of a boy wearing a black shirt with a red one underneath played in Ymir's mind this time. This boy was trying to stop someone from hurting somebody else, but Ymir couldn't see who it was. He also shook this image from his mind as he started in on this boy. The dummy started spinning in a circle, his blade held out to keep others at bay.

"Now would be a good time to now what this power you were talking about is," Ymir proclaimed desperately.

"Just say 'Crystal Ice Armor.' It will show itself," SAI encouraged him.

"Alright. CRYSTAL ICE ARMOR," Ymir shouted. His body became covered in a thick layer of ice. It didn't hinder his movement though. It just seemed to be protecting him, but he also felt like it was hurting him. "What's up with this armor? Why does it seem to be hurting me," Ymir inquired.

"It does that," SAI stated, "Just try to finish off your opponent quickly while wielding this armor. You only have a total of ninety-nine seconds in it before you get knocked out."

"Ninety-nine seconds," Ymir stated, "Way too much time to finish off this joker." Ymir charged at his opponent. His blade got stuck in the ice armor. He looked at his opponent, desperately trying to free his sword. Ymir punched his opponent, and it transformed back into its dummy state with a layer of frost covering where his fist had made contact. The ice armor melted and Ymir could feel his life points regenerating.

"Hmm, it seems as though any damage that I received from the ice armor restores itself after I get out of it. I guess that means that any damage that I have received before using the armor won't go away, right," Ymir inquired.

"How astute of you to notice that," SAI proclaimed. She rushed up to hug him. She quickly pulled away and they were both blushing.

Ymir cleared his throat, "Well, anyway. Why don't we get back to training?"

"Sounds good," SAI stated. She set up two dummies this time. "These two have a connection to one another. It might be a good idea to learn how to fight them together. The next two that I will activate will have a connection as well; they will actually get more powerful as they fight together." The two dummies that she had set up became active; they were Ulrich and Yumi.

Ymir had another vision in his head. This one was of these two talking to each other. It was obvious that they liked each other, but they hadn't admitted it yet. He shook this image from his head too as he prepared to fight.

"Who are all of these humans," Damon thought to himself, "What are their names? Why do they seem almost familiar to me? And most importantly, why do I care?" Damon started to run at his new opponents. _Yumi_ threw her fans at Ymir. Ymir caught them instead of merely dodging them; he had a feeling that they would come back after him if he dodged them the first time. _Ulrich_ split into three and came after him. Ymir threw the fans, destroying the two clones, and dodged a slash by the original. Ymir threw a deadly right hook, smashing the nose of _Ulrich_. Ulrich flew into _Yumi_, knocking them both to the ground. _Ulrich_ was quick to recover and ran at Ymir at a higher speed then he had earlier. Ymir activated his Crystal Ice Armor, allowing one of _Ulrich's_ swords to be embedded in his armor. Ymir did an overhead swing, slamming the back of his foe's neck. _Ulrich's_ neck could be heard snapping from the impact, even as his neck was covered in a thick layer of frost.

He turned to _Yumi_ next. She cowered in fear after seeing him 'kill' _Ulrich_. Ymir picked her up and held her in mid-air. Frost slowly crept across her body. _Yumi's_ struggling slowed and her lips turned blue, until she was frozen. "Pathetic human scum," Ymir muttered as he tossed her aside. The two dummies reverted back to their natural state. He then allowed the ice armor to melt, regaining the life he had lost from it.

"Very good," SAI proclaimed, obviously impressed, "You even seem to be remembering your hatred of these vile humans. How about we move on to the next pair?" SAI set up the dummies for _Aelita_ and _Jeremie_. They instantly sprung into action. Ymir had very little time to react to their attacks; he liked it like that.

The battle was intense, they were keeping Ymir at bay by not letting him get close enough to do any damage. That was when he got creative. He started bobbing and weaving in between the two, trying to get them to hit each other. They figured out his game, however. _Aelita_ sprouted wings, startling Ymir and giving _Jeremie_ a chance to hit him with a single shot. _Jeremie_ cheered triumphantly, but Ymir just turned to look at him. _Jeremie_ and _Aelita_ both started to fire more shots at Ymir, but he simply dodged them. It looked like a deadly ballet, Ymir pirouetting out of the way of so many energy blasts. It was almost like he was taunting them.

Ymir felt a chill go down his spine ten minutes later; he instantly knew what the cause of it was. "CRYSTAL ICE ARMOR!" He walked up to _Jeremie_ and picked him up. He then turned to _Aelita_ and threw his other opponent at her. Before _Jeremie_ could reach her, however, they both fired energy blasts at either side of him. Ymir's armor shivered as his projectile hit its target, knocking them both out. The armor imploded on him, causing massive damage that didn't heal itself. Furious, Ymir stormed up to his prey and proceeded to beat them until they became mere dummies again.

"Apparently their little polarity trick will destroy your armor," SAI stated, then decided to cover herself up quickly, "Good thing they haven't tried that on you before. I might not have been able to save you."

Ymir eyed her suspiciously, but didn't say a word. He had caught the surprise in her former statement, almost as if she were testing his capabilities. He had no idea why he was so suspicious of her; she had been nothing but nice to him. She couldn't possibly be using him as a tool, could she?

"Onto the next opponent," SAI declared, setting up a hooded dummy. When she activated it, it transformed into _Xavier_. "Be careful of this one, he can fire arrows deadly fast. He has managed to fire arrows as fast as one can fire a bullet. I almost admire him, but he's a mere human; he's beneath us."

Ymir nodded his assent as he got another image. He saw this spiky red-haired boy helping hold off an opponent with a sword. He felt pain in his chest as he saw a sword slide into his chest, before the figure wielding it disappeared, then nothing. Ymir shook this image out of his head as well. "Why am I seeing all of these visions? It's almost as though I know all of them from somewhere before…I just can't place who they are or why they seem so important," Damon thought to himself as _Xavier_ started firing red energy arrows at him lightning fast. It was all he could do to dodge them. He couldn't seem to get anywhere near his newest opponent. He just had to wait for his armor. While he was dodging he decided to do a diagnostic check on himself; he almost cursed himself for allowing his life points to get this low. He only had ten life points left.

"That's enough," SAI stated, "The enemy has arrived on Lyoko. It's time that we open the welcoming committee for them. Fortunately, they appear to be in the ice sector where you are strongest. Shall we meet your enemy face to face?" SAI deactivated the training dummy and a silver mist filled the room, healing all of Ymir's damage.

Ymir closed his eyes for a moment to mull this over. "Should I face the enemy head on? There's one more that I don't remember ever seeing. The difficulty seemed to be growing harder and harder as she activated different dummies; does that mean that the last one is the most difficult? Would I be able to exact vengeance on them all at the same time? Only one way to answer all of my questions," Ymir thought to himself.

His eyes flashed open, almost seeming to glow with energy. "Sure," Ymir declared, "I must make them pay for what they did to me!"


	26. Reawakening Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. I tried to activate a tower and make a polymorphic clone of the executive producer and have him name me the owner…Yeeeah, that didn't go so well.

A/N: Ah, the magical chapter 26. Such a glorious number, it means that we're at the start of a new week. This is the start of the Ymir saga. I see that the chapter that dealt entirely with the psychological effects of Damon committing suicide was less popular than the chapter that Damon was reconstructed. I know that last chapter I didn't really do much with the remainder of the group. I realized that I hadn't really done anything with what goes on inside SAI's orb; so I decided to that entire chapter around that, since I had the chance due to reconstructing Damon. I'm surprised that nobody caught where I got 'Ymir' from. Ymir is the king of the frost giants in Norse mythology; I decided that SAI should rename Damon that because of his new power set. I thought that Damon's new appearance was pretty damn cool too. Some of you might even be wondering why I had 'Ymir' have those images go through his head when he saw the other members. That will be explained further in future chapters. This chapter will be dealing with the Lyoko warrior side of these and what happens when they get to Lyoko. Since this chapter is the second part of the last one, this one will also be dedicated to KatNGoomi. Now on to the chapter. Please R&R, I will hit you with a rubber tipped foam mallet until you do.

* * *

The eight friends were running to the factory at full speed. The super scan on Jeremie's laptop had picked up the activation of five towers. "What could SAI possibly be doing that could require her to activate a tower in every sector," Jeremie asked nobody in particular. 

"Whatever it is it can't be good," Yumi stated, "Last time she activated four towers she launched an attack on Earth. I'm loathe to find out what she needs five towers for."

"Whatever it is, we're going to stop her," Erethyr declared, determination in her voice.

"I know that you feel strongly after last time," Xavier said consolingly, "But we don't need to go off the deep end. I'd love to take out my frustrations about Damon's death on SAI, but we need to keep a level head when we're dealing with her."

"We all want to get Damon back," Ulrich stated, "But until we can find a way to reverse his permanent virtualization without the materialization program, we have to live on like he would have wanted us to."

"Thanks, guys," Erethyr declared, "You're right, we have to stick this through to the very end. I'm just kind of nervous about going to Lyoko right now. We've lost one of our closest friends in this battle to save the world; I'm just unnerved right now because any one of us could be next."

"Well said, Erethyr," Odd proclaimed as they reached the manhole cover in the forest, "But if you talk like that, one of us might actually bite the big one. Lighten up, live a little; there's no need to act like each day could be your last. Surely with all this bad luck we've been having, we're bound to have some good luck just around the corner."

"It's times like this that we're glad to have you around Odd," Aelita declared.

"Why is that," Odd inquired, honestly puzzled by his friend's statement.

"Because you are always looking for a silver lining in every cloud," William stated as all the Lyoko warriors got on their sewer transportation of choice, "Sometimes, all anybody ever needs is a positive outlook on the darkest situations."

"Yeah, Odd," Erethyr giggled, "Sometimes I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably be wondering if any amount of purple or sweaty palms could ever get rid of all the cafeteria food," Odd joked. The entire group couldn't help but laugh at Odd's joke. He always seemed to know what to say to get everybody to laugh.

Jeremie's cell phone rang as they exited the sewer, "Hello, what is it?" Jeremie's next expression was one of dumbfounded shock.

"Who is it, Einstein," Odd inquired.

"It's Franz," Jeremie said, "and he says that Cid just sent him another message."

"That sounds like good news," Aelita responded, "So why do you look so shocked?"

"Because Cid's saying not to try to deactivate these towers," Jeremie blurted.

"WHAT," Erethyr shouted, "Does he honestly expect us not to even try to stop SAI?!"

"Apparently so," Jeremie stated, "Because Damon's life hangs in the balance…"

"We've got to talk to Franz in person to see what the hell he means," Ulrich groaned.

* * *

The Computer Lab

* * *

"So, from what Cid told us," William stated, "SAI activated all five of those towers to reconstruct Damon." 

"Correct," Franz replied.

"And if we deactivate even one of those towers, we could end up killing Damon in a more permanent fashion," William continued.

"Also correct," Franz stated, releasing a sigh as he finally got the point of Cid's message across to the teenagers.

"I don't like this," Erethyr proclaimed, "I mean letting SAI reconstruct one of her arch-nemeses; doesn't that seem pretty foolish to anybody else besides me?"

"Knowing SAI," Xavier declared, "She's probably going to turn him against us."

"But how could she," Yumi inquired, "He'll still remember what has happened, won't he?" Xavier looked at the ground, and Yumi covered her mouth as she gasped.

"You don't mean that," Erethyr gasped.

"Falling into the digital sea is traumatic enough, as Yumi knows from experience," Xavier stated morosely, "But couple that with forcing that same person to be recreated after they've past the point of no return, and you'll be lucky to remember anything that happened beforehand." Everybody had a look of shock on their face, including Franz Hopper.

"He's not going to remember any of us," Odd asked worriedly.

"No," Xavier stated, "and knowing SAI, she's going to be feeding him a string of lies. She's going to be trying to get him on his side."

"The towers have just been deactivated," Franz declared.

"Maybe we should wait a little bit longer," Ulrich declared, "Just to make sure that he has actually been recreated."

"If we give her too much time, she'll be able to turn him against us though," Aelita exclaimed.

"I know," Ulrich responded, "But we have to make sure that he was actually recreated before we go in there."

"But how are going to know unless we go," Jeremie inquired.

"Because Cid is going to tell us," Franz stated.

"At least we can rest easy knowing that we have an informant on the inside," William stated.

"True, but he might get found out eventually," Jeremie stated, "If he hasn't already."

"I'm pretty sure that we'd have known by now if SAI had discovered him," Ulrich stated.

"What makes you say that," Jeremie asked.

"You remember when we tried to send you to Lyoko that one time and you ended up almost getting deleted," Ulrich responded.

"Yeah," Jeremie replied, then realized what he was getting at, "That's right, Franz would have seen him being deleted. Good thinking Ulirch."

"I have my moments," Ulrich declared.

"I think that we have given it enough time," Xavier said impatiently, "We need to get there and see what happened to Damon."

"Agreed," Franz declared, "All of you get to the scanners; Ulrich, William, and Xavier: you three will be taking the plunge first. Then Yumi, Odd, and Erethyr will go next. Aelita, you and Jeremie will be the last ones to enter Lyoko." The group nodded as the headed for the elevator and went down to the scanner room.

* * *

Five Minutes Later In the Ice Sector

* * *

"Thanks Franz; everybody's present and accounted for," Yumi stated. 

"And a good thing too," SAI sneered, "I wouldn't want Ymir to get bored with there only being one or two of you." The entire group turned around quickly, and their jaws dropped. Right beside SAI were Cid and Damon, but he looked different-almost frosty.

"Damon." Erethyr said hesitantly, not believing her eyes, "Is that you?" Ymir didn't respond.

"Hey, whitey," Xavier yelled, his worst fears seeming to be confirmed, "She asked you a question."

"Oh, she's talking to me," Ymir responded, "I couldn't tell because my name's Ymir, not Damon."

"Damon," Erethyr muttered, "What happened to you?"

Ymir decided to get a good look at his last opponent, and he got another couple of images in his mind. The first one was of all of them talking to him in a room with mechanical parts strewn everywhere. They were all slowly walking over to his side of the room, but he had no idea as to why this was happening.

The second image was of the red-haired girl crying. This image seemed to bother him more than any of the other images, and he couldn't figure out why. Why should he, an artificial intelligence, care about a puny human girl crying? He was troubled by it, however; that was what was bothering him. He was eventually able to shake these images from hiss mind, but the image of the girl crying stuck in the back of his mind, constantly nagging at him.

"I'm going to make all of you puny humans pay for what you have done to me," Ymir declared. The group visibly winced; they couldn't tell whether or not he was talking about the string of lies that SAI had fed him or what had actually happened.

"Enough talk," Cid shouted, "Let's decimate these human children!"

"I agree with him, for once," SAI said, muttering the last part under her breath, "Now is the time for action, not words!" After that, they sprung into action, catching the group off guard. SAI took on Ulrich and William; Cid took on Xavier, Yumi, Odd, Aelita, and Jeremie; and Ymir fought Erethyr.

* * *

SAI's Fight

* * *

She detached her umbrella into a sword and shield and set off to defeat her two opponents. William was the first one to recover from the shock of Damon now being Ymir and blocked SAI's attack on Ulrich. This was now personal to him; she now had one of his friends like she had him scant months earlier. 

After seeing William block SAI's attack, Ulrich came out of his reverie. They attacked in unison to fend off SAI. William went for an overhead slash while Ulrich spit into three. SAI blocked William's attack and went for a stab of her own. Her attack was knocked aside by one of the Ulrichs. Another Ulrich tried to stab her in the back, but she jumped out of the way.

"I see that this isn't going to be as easy as I thought it was going to be," SAI mused. She bashed her shield into William as the Ulrichs started to run around her in a triangle. There was an Ulrich at each point and a yellow streak between each point. She mentally calculated all the vectors within a second and stabbed into the middle of one of the streaks. She grinned with glee until she found out that it was merely a clone. One of the remaining Ulrichs slashed her arm. It crackled with electricity, signaling that she had taken damage from it. She spun around quickly and slammed her attacker with her shield. She smirked when she saw that it was the real Ulrich and that her dazed. Her attack left her open to another slash from William. As she started to turn into a puff of silver smoke, she stabbed Ulrich, getting rid of him and his clone.

"At least I got rid of one of them," SAI thought to herself as she retreated back to her orb to recuperate. William frowned before heading off to help his friends against Cid. Nobody noticed that a small diamond with a crack in it had fallen to the ground.

* * *

Cid's Fight

* * *

Cid fired two shots, both of them hitting Yumi and Odd. They was devirtualized instantly. He turned to Jeremie and Aelita, firing at them. His shots were shot down by Xavier's arrows. 

"Not today, mother fucker," Xavier declared as he started firing madly at Cid. Aelita and Jeremie started firing at him too. It was all Cid could do to dodge all of these attacks. He aimed a couple of shots at Xavier so that they would go right in between of the oncoming arrows. He hoped that they would be disguised by the oncoming onslaught.

He smirked as he thought to himself, "He'll never see it coming." Cid fired his shots. One of them was destroyed by an arrow, but the other one found its mark. The shot that landed hit his hand, causing him to drop his bow. Cid took the opportunity and fired another shot into Xavier's nuts, devirtualizing him too.

"Not again," Xavier squeaked as he finished devirtualizing. Jeremie and Aelita visibly winced when they saw where Xavier got hit, again. Cid tried to take a few pot shots on them, but they managed to dodge them before returning their own fire. They saw William slice SAI. As she turned into a puff of silver smoke, she struck Ulrich, devirtualizing him and deleting his clone. William started to run up on them, trying to help them out before they were devirtualized as well.

Cid decided to put away his revolvers and pull out his sword. He needed to get in close to defeat his opponents; they were too skilled at projectile attacks to be hit by them. William came for a powerful overhead attack, but when he got close enough Cid just kicked him away and jumped on top of him with his sword pointed down. The sword was buried in William's chest, devirtualizing him. Cid was then hit by two energy balls, one from each of his remaining opponents.

He looked down then looked back up, a comic expression that just yelled 'FUCK!' Cid was pulled into his belly button before exploding. "I guess that is what happens when you aren't a monster and you get hit by polarity," Jeremie stated.

"Please Jeremie," Aelita pleaded, "Don't ruin how funny the look on his face was." She was trying her hardest not to laugh her ass off. They decided that they should help out Erethyr, it looked like she was in trouble. She didn't even have her scimitars out.

* * *

Ymir's Fight

* * *

Erethyr and Ymir just stood there in fighting stances, staring at each other. "We don't have to do this Damon. We don't have to fight. I was so grief-stricken when you jumped into the digital sea." 

"I already told you," Ymir declared, "My name's Ymir, not Damon. And what do mean by 'jumped into the digital sea?' I was beaten by all of you humans. I woke up not remembering anything thanks to all of you."

"I'm not going to argue with you on your memory being gone," Erethyr stated, "That was all of our fault for not realizing how much stress you were under. But please, just come home, everybody is worrying about you." A tear escaped Erethyr's eye.

"Why is it that I can't stand to see her cry," Ymir thought to himself, "Why should I care if one of my enemies cries?" He threw his doubts to the back of his mind and ran at Erethyr. She hadn't even drawn her swords, she just dodged his punch.

"I'm not going to fight you, Damon," Erethyr said, more tears escaping her eyes.

"And why not," Ymir demanded, "Why won't you fight me? And more importantly, WHY DO YOU KEEP ON CALLING ME DAMON?"

"Because that is your name," Erethyr stated calmly as she continued to dodge his punches, "I don't know why you're calling yourself Ymir now, but I do know that whatever you call yourself: I still love you and I always will."

This threw Ymir for a loop. Why would she, one of his enemies, have ever loved him? Ymir actually reeled from this, taking a step back. He expected her to attack him in his moment of weakness, but she never did. When he looked at her, she looked hopeful, as if she was hoping that something would happen. He shoved these thoughts to the back of his mind too and started to attack her some more. Erethyr just sighed and started dodging his attacks again.

Around this time, Ymir looked over and saw Xavier get shot in the balls. Ymir started to chuckle at his misfortune before he got another image in his head. This time he saw Xavier falling out of a cylinder, clutching his nuts. Everybody in the room winced when they saw where he had gotten hit. He laughed at this mental image.

"What are you laughing at," Erethyr inquired as he threw another punch at her.

"If you must know, human" Ymir spat, "I just got an image of him falling out of a cylinder, clutching himself. Pretty funny actually."

"So you do still remember some things," Erethyr muttered, awestuck. She didn't even dodge the next punch; it sent her sprawling about four feet away.

"What do you mean by that," Ymir asked inquisitively.

"I think Odd might be right about that being a catch phrase," Erethyr laughed before she got back up. Ymir ran up to her and punched her back down. Erethyr decided to stay on the ground this time and just roll away from his attacks.

Now Jeremie and Aelita were running over to help out Erethyr. They were worried that she hadn't even drawn her scimitars yet. They started to fire off their energy balls. Ymir dodged them and shouted, "CRYSTAL ICE ARMOR!" All three of them were amazed when he was covered in a thick layer of ice. Ymir just smirked and ran towards them. Erethyr decided that she would have to fight him and pulled out her scimitars. She got off the ground and started to run up behind Ymir.

When Ymir got close enough, Jeremie and Aelita combined their attacks into one purple energy ball. They launched it at Ymir, hitting his ice armor. He didn't look surprised when the armor was destroyed, however. He did look surprised when Erethyr drove one of her scimitars through his chest.

"I'm sorry," Erethyr whispered as tears fell from her eyes. Ymir vanished in a puff of icy haze. The haze reflected the light to shine on the diamond that had fallen to the ground earlier.

"What's that," Jeremie thought aloud as he walked over to it and picked it up.

"We're ready to come back now, daddy," Aelita declared. The three Lyoko warriors were devirtualized. At the scanner room, Jeremie was surprised that he was still holding the diamond. They headed back up to the computer room.

"What is that," Aelita asked when she saw the diamond in his hand.

"I don't know," Jeremie responded, "I was actually hoping that somebody else might know."

"Let me see that," Franz stated. Jeremie handed it over looking fairly confused. Franz looked it over for a moment before gasping with realization.

"What is it," Yumi asked.

"This is the core of Damon's being," Franz responded.


	27. Niffleheim

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. I am still recovering from that last attack. Horrible things happened in that attack; horrible, unspeakable things.

A/N: Hey, hey, hey; we're at the beginning of chapter 27. That means that I'm still writing, despite having recently bought Halo 3. Good game, but I enjoy the satisfaction I get from writing a story for all of you to read. I even left a Clerks 2 reference for anybody that has ever watched that movie. You'll know it when you read it. I hope that some of you like that cliffy in the last chapter. I wanted to try leaving something unfinished for once, but it started bugging the shit out of me. I don't think that I'm going to be doing that again any time soon. Anyway, I'm holding a little contest. I want a picture of one of my OCs, either in their Lyoko or Earth forms. In exchange I will dedicate a chapter to the one that draws the best looking picture, and I will even throw a character of your design into the story for a guest spot. I will do this for each category. Damon: Earth/ Lyoko. Erethyr: Earth/ Lyoko. Xavier: Earth/ Lyoko. SAI: Lyoko. Cid: Earth/ Lyoko. Ymir: Lyoko. Those are the ten categories. That means plenty of chances to get in on the action. Anybody who's interested, just e-mail your pics to me. Anyway, now that that is out of the way; ONTO THE CHAPTER! Please R&R, I will pick your nose with a rubber chicken if you don't.

* * *

"What do you mean," Ulrich inquired. 

"Looks like I owe you twenty bucks," Erethyr whispered to Odd.

"What do you mean," Odd asked, positively confused.

"Remember that bet I made with you over whether or not that phrase would become our catchphrase," Erethyr responded.

"Yeah, what about it," Odd replied.

"I heard Damon say it on Lyoko," Erethyr stated, "Here's your twenty bucks." Erethyr put the twenty in Odd's pocket, leaving him more confused than when their conversation started.

"When Damon jumped into the virtual sea, his body and mind exploded, leaving only the core of his being. That lasts a little bit longer than the outer being. SAI must have picked up the diamond before it was destroyed, but not before it got this crack in it," Franz explained.

"So wait," Xavier proclaimed, "That crack must be the cause of his memories being obliterated."

"For the most part," Erethyr chimed in. Everyone turned to look at her. "When he saw you get shot in the nuts again, he started laughing. He described the situation in the scanner room the last time that happened. I think that he just doesn't have free access to those memories. This may be the A.I. in me speaking, but I think that if we can fix that crack, we should be well along the path to healing Damon's mind."

"That's a good idea," Franz stated, "But you are forgetting one thing. Since Damon and the core of his being are two separate things now, Damon would have to be touching it for the memories to flow into him."

"That could be difficult," Yumi said.

"Especially with his ice armor," Aelita added.

"You mean that SAI messed him up that bad," William asked incredulously.

"She might have done it so that she could get a better hold onto his mind," Xavier offered, "If he saw that he had a jumpsuit like the rest of us, he would have known that something was up."

"SAI's always the devious one," Jeremie declared, "With just one gentle push, she got everything to spiral out of control until now." He looked over at Erethyr and saw tears welling in her eyes before she ran out of the room crying.

"Nice one, Dr. Phil," Xavier proclaimed scathingly as he also ran out of the room to console Erethyr.

The group just stood there in shock for a few moments before Odd asked, "Did he just call you Dr. Phil?" Everyone just nodded silently. "I thought that I had some bad jokes, but that just takes the cake…ooh, cake."

* * *

The Ground Floor

* * *

Xavier ran up to Erethyr. She was sitting in a corner, crying nearby some machinery. "How could he be so heartless as to say something like that? That was just so cruel to say," Erethyr sobbed. 

"Listen," Xavier said, getting Erethyr to suddenly look at him, "Jeremie may be a virtuoso when it comes to book smarts, but he's still a novice when it comes to social skills. He didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but what he did say was pretty heartless."

"Yeah, but that's not what is really bothering me," Erethyr muttered, her voice shaking.

It was Xavier's turn to look at her suddenly. "I know that this has become our unofficial catchphrase, but what do you mean?"

Erethyr gave a small laugh at Xavier's comment. "It's just that you have been there for me since Damon fell into a coma, always looking out for my well-being. I'm just afraid that after accusing Damon of not loving me, it's actually me that doesn't really love him…."

Xavier did a triple take, his eyes as wide as saucers, before asking, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know what I mean anymore," Erethyr muttered, "I just don't know anymore." She started sobbing silently, and Xavier walked up to her and hugged her. The two just sat there in silence for a few minutes.

* * *

The Computer Lab

* * *

"Okay, so if we're going to fix this crystal," Jeremie says, "We're going to need Xavier's help. I may have a lot of experience reformatting hard drives and recovering data, but I don't think that I have enough experience to deal with something of this magnitude." 

"C'mon Einstein," Odd declared, "Don't doubt yourself like that. It isn't everybody that could come up with all the programs that you have come up with. If anybody could help out right now, it would be you."

"Wow Odd," Ulrich said, "That actually sounded inspirational."

"I concur," Jeremie said awestruck.

Aelita leaned close Yumi before whispering, "Here's that twenty from the bet." She handed to Yumi and she smiled lightly before putting it in her pocket.

"The process is fairly complicated," Franz stated, "If we mess up, there will be no do-overs. The crystal will explode and Damon will be lost forever." A dark cloud hung over the group as Erethyr and Xavier walked.

"Whoa," Xavier proclaimed, "Did somebody just die?"

"No," Jeremie said morosely, "But if we fail in reformatting Damon's core, he'll be lost; forever." Erethyr gasped and Xavier looked shocked.

"Then we'll just have to be extra careful," Xavier declared after a long pause.

"What do you mean," Yumi stated. The entire group had to stop themselves from laughing. This was a serious moment, not a time to laugh about their catchphrase.

"We are going to have to take our time making the recovery program," Xavier explained, "I might even have to stay here so that I can have access to the super calculator's superior calculating power."

"Sounds like a plan," Ulrich stated.

"With that said, let's go eat," Odd exclaimed.

"You are a purple pig with sweaty palms," Erethyr said, shaking her head. The group, except Xavier, filed out of the factory laughing. They knew that they would have to hold off the funeral procession for Damon until they knew whether or not they would actually be able to get him back. They just didn't know how they were going to explain this one.

* * *

SAI's Orb

* * *

"Whacha doin'," SAI asked Ymir. He seemed to be compiling several lines of code. It was almost as if he were creating something. 

"I'm making some new monsters. I'm even thinking about making a new sector," Ymir mused.

"Oh, that sounds interesting," SAI proclaimed. She was amazed at how fast he was working. She figured that he must have learned something form Artemis before she had gotten the government to finish off that damn fool.

"Initializing the start-up procedure…now," Ymir proclaimed as he started creating the new sector. He had decided that there would be only one way in, through the ice sector. He had to reconfigure an entire tower to make it the only way in. It could no longer be activated to launch an attack on those inferior humans, but such sacrifices had to be made so that he would have a new home.

"When can I see it," SAI asked.

"Soon," Ymir stated, "I just have to go there in person to put in the finishing touches. I'll call for you when it is ready." Ymir vanished in a puff of frost as he went to the tower hidden behind a waterfall.

When he arrived he made a beeline for the tower. The tower now only had one platform with a shimmering archway on the side. He stepped through the arch and couldn't help but be impressed by his handiwork. He could actually call this place home.

It looked like a snow-covered forest; the entire sector was just one gigantic frozen landmass with the digital sea surrounding it. There were caves hidden throughout the sector, each one with long icicles hanging from the opening. There were areas where there were no trees, but these places had a layer of permafrost on them. There were canyons made of ice connecting the various parts of his new home. He had decided to scatter a very few towers throughout the sector. He hadn't particularly relished the idea, but it had to be done. He didn't want to have to leave this place very often. Ymir decided to walk through it.

Eventually he reached his destination, a frozen palace. He went in and was greeted by a few of his new monsters. They were about ten feet tall, looked like humans but they were made entirely out of ice. They had pelts to cover themselves. They also wielded spiked axes. Ymir smiled at his handiwork on these new monsters, he had decided to call them frost giants. He grinned when he came to his throne. He was Ymir, King of the Frost Giants. He sat down on his throne and beckoned for SAI. She was there within a matter of minutes.

She whistled when she reached his throne room. "Nice digs, but what are you going to call this place?"

"Why, Niffleheim; of course," Ymir declared.

"You have style, I'll give you that," SAI proclaimed.

"As we speak, I'm populating the area with my frost giants. When the time comes, I will make more creatures for this land, but they will do for now," Ymir exclaimed.

"This place does suit you," SAI nodded.

Ymir grinned, "Training against my creatures will pose a far greater challenge to me than fighting your training dummies. You may come here as you please until I decide otherwise, but for now begone. I have plans to make for an assault on the human world." Ymir said these last words with malice in his voice.

"I shall leave you to that," SAI said as she vanished in a puff of silver smoke.

When he was sure that she was gone, Ymir said, "I will not only take off their world, but this one as well." He gave an evil laugh as he started work on his plan, all the while thinking of new monsters for his realm.


	28. Questions

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. I have just sent an attack party of ninja gerbil commandoes in, they might just do it.

A/N: Chapter 28. This feels pretty damn good. Alright, first off, I know that the name of the last chapter was kinda funny sounding. It's pronounced nif-fle-HEEM. I'm going all out on a Norse theme for Ymir. If any of you have read any Norse mythology, you're going to be either smiling or confused by what I'm going to be doing for other monsters. I'm eagerly awaiting for somebody to draw a picture of one of my OCs. I'm even considering e-mailing a copy of the first chapter as I originally imagined it to the one that draws the best looking picture. Now that I think of it, the story was a lot different when I originally imagined it. In the original build, Damon already knew about Lyoko, the factory, and every return to the past. He also knew about Erethyr. I got to chapter three and decided that it wasn't a good idea. Now we're here at chapter 28. I'm sure as hell glad that I didn't take the other path, it would have been hard as hell to write this far. Anyway, I'm blathering now. Let's continue to the magical land, of chapter 28. Please R&R, I will have kittens lick your toes until you cry if you don't.

* * *

It was the day after Damon had been recreated. There was a deep funk within the group, they had just gotten some news from Franz and Xavier. They were currently discussing it. 

"I can't believe how fast Damon works," Jeremie declared.

"I know, he created a brand new sector within a couple of hours of our fight on Lyoko," Yumi stated.

"I can believe it," Erethyr proclaimed, "I think that while he might not clearly remember everything that happened before he jumped, I think that he might still have all the skills that he had before he jumped."

"Before he jumped he would have been able to dodge an attack to his back though," Aelita countered.

"She's right," Ulrich commented, "I've sparred with him a lot, and he was always aware of all his surroundings."

"He also didn't look surprised when the polarity move destroyed his armor," Jermie stated, "It was almost as though he knew that would happen."

"You don't think that SAI trained him in ways to defeat all of us, do you," Yumi asked.

"If she did, then doesn't explain why he didn't know how to beat me," Erethyr said, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"Let's get off of this topic," William declared. The group nodded their assent; it was a painful subject for everybody.

"Have any of you heard that there will be a new student coming later this week," Odd asked.

"No, we haven't," Ulrich said, "How did you find this out?"

"I overheard Sissi talking," Odd said, "One of the good things about knowing who to listen to. Her name is Cassandra and she's supposed to be from the same town that Damon came from."

"Well, I know what you're going to be trying to do," Ulrich stated.

"Oh, come on," Odd objected, "Just because the ladies love me doesn't mean that you have to be hatin'."

"I wonder why somebody else from his area would be coming here," William asked.

"Why did Damon come here in the first place," Yumi counter-asked.

"You know," Aelita said, "I don't think that any of us actually asked him."

"Why don't we go over to his house later and ask, after telling his parents the news both good and bad," William stated.

"If you guys are alright with it," Erethyr muttered, "I think that I would like to sit that one out…"

"It's okay," Ulrich said consolingly, "We understand."

"Thanks," Erethyr said, "I think that we had better head off to class." The group decided that this was a good idea. They didn't have any Lyoko based emergencies at the moment so they wouldn't be able to skip class. School was boring, as always when there wasn't a SAI attack. The entire school was in a state of blissful ignorance, completely unaware of what had happened to Damon.

* * *

Niffleheim

* * *

Ymir was sitting in his icy throne, looking down at some of his subjects. He had decided that there would be a hierarchy among his monsters. He had the frost giants, the Vikings, and the Fenrir wolves. The Vikings looked just like their name sake. They were about six feet tall and had on pelts and steel armor. They wielded wicked looking axes and they had on horned helmets. The Fenrir wolves were also ferocious looking. They were about five feet tall and had snow-white fur. They had a beautiful aura of ferocity about them. All these monsters were his subjects, and they knew it. They were bowing before their king. 

"My loyal subjects," Ymir declared, "I hope that all is going well with the creation of bigger armies."

"Indeed my liege," the frost giant stated.

"All is going well, yer majesty," the Viking declared.

"Hmm, your majesty; I like that," Ymir muttered to himself, "And what about you Fenris?"

"My wolves are ready to strike at any moment, your majesty," Fenris growled.

"Good, then everything is going according to plan," Ymir stated with a maniacal grin on his face.

"What shall we do now, yer majesty," the Viking inquired.

"Be ready for war," Ymir declared, "The enemy will no doubt come here to investigate this land shortly."

"Understood, your majesty," the three monsters stated as they marched out of the throne room.

"And now we wait," Ymir thought to himself.

* * *

Damon's House

* * *

It was after school. The group had decided that after they had finished with their business at Damon's house they would explore the new sector. Franz had already told them that it had been named Niffleheim. Odd was the only one that saw the connection, surprisingly. 

"Now, could you run that by us again, Odd," Ulrich stated.

"Alright, it's really simple," Odd decalred, "In Norse mythology, Ymir was the king of the frost giants. His realm was called Niffleheim. If you think about it, the choice in the new sector's name actually made a lot of sense. Now Damon calls himself Ymir and he created a new sector, that he named Niffleheim. I think that he might be power tripping."

"This can't be good," Jeremie proclaimed.

"I know what you mean," Aelita said, "But if we can get Damon back to us, that could be sort of our base of operations while we're on Lyoko."

"Big if," Yumi stated, "We don't even know if we'll be able to recover Damon's memories. We shouldn't plan that far ahead, yet." They had arrived at Damon's house now, and Odd knocked on the door. He felt that he should this time because he had figured something out that nobody else in the group had.

Mrs. Lerath opened the door; her eyes looked kind of puffy, like she had been crying recently. "Oh, hello. What brings this visit?"

"Um, we got to talking and we figured out that we never knew why Damon came here of all places after living in St. Louis," Yumi stated, "And we've also got some news for you, both good and bad."

"Please, come in," Mrs. Lerath proclaimed as she opened the door wider, letting everybody in. The group came in and saw a lot more black on the walls than they had the last time they had visited. Apparently, his parents were in mourning for their lost son.

"Okay, I think that we should give you the news before we ask our question," Ulrich declared.

"That would be nice," Mrs. Lerath said.

"We'll give you the good news first," Odd stated, "Damon has been brought back to life. He has been reconstructed on Lyoko."

Mrs. Lerath looked cheerful at this news, then a thought struck her. "Why did you tell me the bad news first? Something happened to him, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jeremie said, "That brings us to the bad news. SAI was the one that reconstructed him. Because of how he died he doesn't have full access to his memories. We think that certain events trigger shadows of memories within his mind. He's no longer one of the good guys." Mrs. Lerath gasped at the news. She didn't know whether to happy that her son was alive or sad that he was now evil.

"But there is good news after the bad," Aelita said, getting Mrs. Lerath's attention, "We managed to find the core of his being. It is cracked right now, but we've got our two experts working on a way to fix it. We think that if we can fix his core then somehow reinitialize contact with it into him, we might be able to bring him back in most respects."

Mrs. Lerath looked relieved at this statement. She might actually get her baby back. "Okay, thank you for the news. I'll make sure to tell Gary when he gets home. Now, what did you what to ask and what brought about the urge to know more about his past?"

"Let's start with the latter," William said, "We've heard that a girl from the area that Damon grew up in will be enrolling here within a week. Her name is Cassandra, does that ring any bells?"

Mrs. Lerath's eyes grew wide. "Cassandra…that was the name of Damon's girlfriend back in St. Louis, but she's dead. It can't be her, can it?"

Ulrich looked confused, but he decided to ask the question that they had originally came here to ask. "Why did you move here?"

"We found out that Damon might be a genius, so we looked around for a better school," Mrs. Lerath responded, "After Cassandra died, he took a turn for the worse. He was actually starting to think about joining the gang that was directly opposed to the one that killed her. We had to get him out of that neighborhood. That was when Gary got a job over here in France. He got a job at the local nuclear power plant. That was when we found out about Kadic Academy. We found out that it had a good percentage of students that were as smart as what Damon was reported to be. We moved out here ASAP. That was when he met you guys. You know the rest after that."

"I'm just wondering," Jeremie inquired, "What was his reported IQ?"

Mrs. Lerath was taken aback by his question. She hesitantly replied, "186…why do you ask?"

Jeremie looked like he was surprised for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure, "This could be very bad. If somebody that smart is given the chance to work continuously, without ant need for sleep, the results could be catastrophic."

"We have to go to Lyoko…now," Aelita exclaimed.

As the group ran out the door, Yumi turned to Mrs. Lerath. She said, "Thanks for the information. We have to hurry, we need to stop Damon before he gets out of hand." She closed the door behind her.

"Oh, dear," Mrs. Lerath stated, "I do hope that they will be alright."


	29. The Chapter After The Last One

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. My ninja gerbil commandoes are still fighting, however. They have lasted the longest out of all of my armies. You just can't beat ninjas, yeah.

A/N: Alright! We've reached chapter 29. Sorry about the name, I couldn't think of anything original. I have over 1400 hits! But I only have ten reviews. C'mon people, I live off of reviews. I'm sorry that the last chapters were so short, but I've been trying to fight off a bad case of writer's block. This is going to be another one of those great action chapters. I might even decide to introduce another OC shortly. I needed another one to make my story work, and KatNGoomi gave me a suggestion. I liked it, so I'm going to be inserting her shortly. Everybody who has been reading this story already know her name and a little bit of her background. I hope that I portray her like she is supposed to be when she actually comes in to the story. Now that I've finished blathering, I will now give you the latest installment in Damonic Rapture. Please R&R, I have a water gun pointed at the crotch of everybody that has read this. The water gun will only go away after you leave a review.

* * *

Lyoko

* * *

"Alright, we're here daddy," Aelita stated, "Where do we go to reach Niffleheim." 

"Damon, or maybe we should call him Ymir until we can heal his mind, converted a tower into the gateway into his realm," Franz offered, "The tower is fourteen degrees south of your current position."

"Thank you," William stated, "I just wish that you had decided to come with us Xavier."

"Sorry about that," Xavier proclaimed, "I'm going to be working on the program to fix the crack in Damon's core nonstop until it is complete. Even with my Lyoko power, I'm making little headway. As near as I can figure, I'm only ten percent complete."

"For only starting yesterday, that's pretty damn impressive," Jeremie whistled.

"I've only completed the easiest part. I'm sorry that I have to use one of the scanners for the jewel," Xavier stated, "But I need to be able to examine it very closely to make the program."

"How soon do you think that you will be able to finish it," Erethyr asks quietly.

"It should be done by the end of the week if everything goes according to plan," Xavier declared uncertainly.

"We understand," Aelita stated, "You're doing the best that you can."

"I do think that you guys might actually be able to help me out," Xavier exclaimed.

"How so," Yumi inquired.

"At least she didn't say 'what do you mean'," Ulrich whispered to Erethyr. This caused her to giggle slightly.

"I'm going to need you guys to explore Niffleheim later," Xavier stated, getting some groans from the group, "Before you guys start complaining, I'm going to have Franz compiling the data that we will be getting from Sector Five so that I can rifle through it when I get back. I will be with you shortly."

The group headed over to Sector Five and Xavier was waiting for them. "Why didd you need to come here," Jeremie asked.

"My power will not give me access to all knowledge instantaneously," Xavier explained, "I can only use my power to use what knowledge I already possess and compile it into a form that I can use to go through it at the speed that surpasses the super calculator. By doing this I can create theories at lightning speed with a ninety-nine percent chance of being correct. I currently don't have all the information necessary to create the program to fix the core of Damon's being. That information is stored here on Sector Five. If I can get every piece of necessary data here on Sector Five, I will be able to finish that program by lunch tomorrow."

"Then let's get to it. But after we help you, we will explore Niffleheim, agreed," William stated.

"Agreed," Xavier said simply.

The group made their way to the central database of Sector Five in the Celestial Dome. They covered Xavier while he used his power to go through all the data at a lightning speed and send all relevant information to Franz. SAI didn't launch an attack on them during this time. It only took ten minutes for Xavier to extract every useful file. After he was done they went all the way back to the tower to get to Niffleheim.

"You sure that you got everything that you needed," Ulrich asked impatiently.

"For the umpteenth time, yes I'm absolutely positive that I got everything that I need," Xavier said, sounding exasperated, "I went through every single file in Sector Five and extracted all useful information."

"Just making sure," Odd said, "We don't want to have to go all the way back there just because you forgot to kiss the screen good-bye and tuck it in for the night."

"Now that you mention it…" Xavier joked, looking thoughtful. He instantly had seven pairs of eyes glaring at him. "What, can't I make jokes worthy of Odd?"

"That was just horrible," Jeremie declared.

"I'll give you the twenty when we get back," Odd whispered to Ulrich. Ulrich just nodded his confirmation.

"Let's just get in there already," Xavier sighed before muttering, "God, you sound like Sissi sometimes." Everybody heard that and chased Xavier all the way into Niffleheim. They paused and took a look at the landscape around them. Franz had a visual patched through Aelita's eyes.

"You getting all of this daddy," Aelita whispered awestruck.

"I sure am princess," Franz declared, likewise awestruck at what he was saying, "Ymir does excellent work."

"Don't call him that," Erethyr hissed vehemently, "He's still Damon!"

"And I thought that I did good work with where I placed my orb," Xavier stated, "But he took it to a whole new level. The only thing that could make this more visceral is if he added weather patterns."

"I don't think that he wanted to take away from the beauty of first entering his realm," Yumi proclaimed.

"If so, then he succeeded," Ulrich declared.

"Have you gotten the holomap to pick up this sector yet, Franz," Jeremie inquired.

"Yes and what confuses me is that there are a lot of monsters milling about," Franz exclaimed, "It's almost as though Damon created hundreds of monsters before any of you showed up."

"Damn," Jeremie said in awe, "He works fast."

"Looks like we'll be crashing his little tea party," Odd proclaimed. Four frost giants came crashing through the woods, barreling right towards them. "Or he'll crash ours, whichever."

The lead frost giant swung its axe at Ulrich. He side stepped it and tried to slice through the monster with his swords. They just clanged off of the monster's hide.

"What are these things made out of," Ulrich shouted, his teeth chattering.

"I think that we are going to have to find the weak spot," Xavier said, readying his bow, "Try looking for some sort of unusual marking, something that just yells 'Hit Me!'"

The second frost giant swung its axe at Yumi and Aelita. Aelita managed to get out of the way but Yumi wasn't so lucky. The axe went clean through her, and she was instantly devirtualized.

"Yumi," Ulrich shouted, "Alright, you're going to pay for that!" Ulrich started to run around the second one, using his super sprint to become a harder target to hit. The frost giant just sighed and stuck his foot out, tripping Ulrich.

"You are going to have to do better than that if you want to beat us," the second frost giant rumbled, getting laughter from the others. Ulrich had hit a tree after he had been tripped. When he hit it, the tree shook and dropped snow on top of him. This caused an uproar of laughter from the frost giants.

Xavier used this opportunity to activate his power, looking for a weak spot in the frost giants. He couldn't find any, so he sighed and let loose an arrow. It buried deep into the giant's head, causing it to fall over and disappear in a puff of smoke. He reactivated his power and came up with a conclusion. "Weapons like Ulrich's sword won't work on these fuckers! We have to use energy weapons to take them out!" Xavier was beaming, he was so proud of himself for figuring it out.

Aelita and Jeremie nodded to one another and fired their energy balls at each of the frost giants. Only one of them managed to escape being polarized into oblivion. This last frost giant bellowed with rage and made a bull rush on his foes. Odd stuck out his foot and tripped the monster, sending it flying into a different tree. While Odd was rolling on the ground, laughing his ass off, the tree that the frost giant hit broke and fell on top of him, devirtualizing him instantly. Fortunately, the frost giant was also crushed by the tree. The remaining members of the group couldn't help but laugh at the series of events that resulted in Odd being devirtualized.

"I don't think that I'm ever going to let him live that one down," Ulrich laughed.

"The look on both of their faces when they were crushed was priceless," William declared, trying to catch his breath.

"C'mon guys," Xavier said, trying to keep a straight face-he was failing miserably, "We have a job to do. Let's get going." Xavier couldn't stop himself anymore, he collapsed onto the ground rolling with laughter. Aelita and Jeremie looked at him strangely.

"You know," Jeremie said, "I don't think that I've ever seen Xavier laughing, much less that hard."

"I know," Aelita responded, "He's usually all serious and shit, but to see him break down in laughter. That's kind of disconcerting."

"I know what you mean," Jeremie stated, "There have to be more monsters on the way; that can't have been all of them."

"Okay so what do we know about this place," Xavier inquired.

"All we know so far is that it is based on Norse mythology," Odd stated.

"Well, fuck," Xavier exclaimed, "We need to get more intel. We may need to deactivate a tower here in the future."

The group decided to continue along, exploring Niffleheim. They had a few more minor skirmishes with frost giants, but they were easy to beat now that they knew how to go about it. Then they ran across three Vikings.

"Should have seen that one coming," Ulrich muttered as he drew his sword. Xavier was already activating his power, and he was looking very grim at what he discovered.

"These guys can't be beaten with energy attacks. That means that Aelita, Jeremie, and I have to sit this one out," Xavier stated.

"How can you tell all that," Aelita asked.

"They have runes on their armor to protect them against out magic," Xavier explained simply.

"That makes sense," Jeremie proclaimed, "Have monsters with different kinds of weaknesses; that way if you combine the two together, you can have the ones that are strong against certain members of our group destroy them. This way they work better as a team. I'm starting to fear his genius level IQ."

"Works for me," William said off-handedly as he swung his sword at the front Viking. The Viking caught his sword with crook of his axe. The Viking tugged suddenly and forced William to let go of his sword.

"Guess the cavalry has to come to the rescue," Odd sighed as he fired a laser arrow at the Viking's face. The Viking never saw it coming. He dropped his axe, howling with pain. William took the opportunity and picked his sword. As he dove for his sword, however, another Viking swung his axe towards William's neck. Ulrich used his super sprint as he triplicated himself and blocked the axe while the other two went after the last Viking.

"Thanks," William said gratefully.

"Anytime," Ulrich declared as he held the Viking off for long enough to allow William a chance to get up. They nodded at each other and Ulrich threw the Viking off of him and drew his other sword. They attacked in tandem, one blocking the Viking while the other one sliced off parts of the armor. Within a couple of minutes, the Viking was stripped of almost all of his armor. Ulrich blocked the Viking's axe one last time while William sliced the Viking in half. The Viking let out a small grunt as it vanished in a puff of snow.

William and Ulrich decided to look at what everybody else had done. Odd had long since eliminated his enemy; he was still crowing about his victory. The other two Ulrichs had been fighting a long battle against their opponent. One of them had been destroyed, but the other one slid one of its katanas into the Vikings helmet. The Viking couldn't even grunt as it too vanished in a puff of snow.

"Fusion," Ulrich stated, making the clone come back into him.

"Well, that went better than the fight against those frost giants," William stated.

"That's because we actually knew how to beat these fuckers," Ulrich countered.

"At least we're getting some useful information while we're here," Xavier declared.

"How about we spend about ten more minutes here before we head back home," Jeremie offered.

"You know," Odd said, "As much as I love to kick monster ass…that actually sounds like a good idea."

The group continued to trudge through Niffleheim, occasionally stepping into deep spots in the snow. Off in the distance they saw a gleaming castle. It appeared to be made entirely out of ice. "He's there; I just know it," Erethyr stated.

"Well, of course," Odd joked, "Don't you know that every ego-tripping king needs an iceberg away from his glacier?" Everybody just took a step away from both Erethyr and Odd. Erethyr had her hands clenched into fists; she was seething with anger.

Odd chose this moment to turn around. "Why is everyone backing ooOOH SHIT!" He saw the look on Erethyr's face and knew that he was in deep trouble.

He tried to run away, but it got him nowhere. Before he took three steps, he already had a scimitar at his throat. Erethyr whispered almost seductively in his ear, "Just remember, I know where you eat." If Odd could have pissed himself on Lyoko, he would have at that moment. The look on his face was one of abject horror. Even after she walked away, he was rooted to the spot.

"I don't think that I've ever seen anybody that scared in my life," Ulrich whispered to the others.

"I don't think that I want to know what she said that spooked him that badly," Willliam stated under his breath.

"I've never seen Odd that scared," Aelita said, awestruck at the gravity of the moment.

"He looks like he wants to piss himself," Jeremie stated.

"Remind me to never get on her bad side," Xavier commented. Everybody just nodded in agreement. None of them had noticed the pack of wolves that had snuck up on them until it was too late. Before they even knew what hit them, the wolves had devirtualized everybody but Xavier, Jeremie, and Erethyr. The wolves disappeared just as suddenly as they had attacked.

"What the fuck just happened here," Jeremie asked, sounding like he was panicking.

"I think that our friends just became some new monster's bitches," Xavier declared, likewise panicking.

"We just need to calm down and watch each other's backs," Erethyr said calmly. They came together and had their backs facing each other. They were looking around, weapons at the ready; they were ready to fight this new adversary.

One of the wolves decided to show itself. It boldly walked up and declared, "My name is Fenris. I am the leader of the Fenrir wolves. What is your business here on Niffleheim?"

"We are merely on an exploration mission," Erethyr stated boldly.

"Ah, I see that you are the only one in your group that isn't a coward," Fenris smirked as only a wolf can, "I should have realized that when you frightened that purple cat. How about a deal?"

"What kind of deal," Erethyr inquired.

"I'll let you pass freely, if you can best me in combat," Fenris stated.

"How do I know that you won't go back on your word," Erethyr asked.

"I'm a wolf of my honor," Fenris proclaimed.

"Fine," Erethyr stated. She was staring down Fenris. If he knew fear, he would have been backing down from the stare that she was leveling at him.

"I see that you are the feisty one," Fenris declared, "Let's see if you are all talk or if you have any fight in you, shall we?"

Erethyr drew her scimitars and kept staring down Fenris. Fenris merely stared back at her, waiting for an opening. The two opponents stayed locked in that position for what seemed like hours; then Erethyr decided to lunge for Fenris. Fenris jumped to the side and tried to bite her neck. Erethyr was waiting for this; she quickly spun around and kicked the beast up over her. She used her own momentum to get herself back on her feet and turned around to face her foe. Fenris did likewise. The two now decided to size each other up, trying to find some sort of weakness. Erethyr had long since learned how to feign one, and Fenris took the bait. He charged in and spun around as he got close to her, attempting to trip her. Erethyr jumped over this attack and put her scimitars at the beast's throat.

"Well, I guess I should have seen that one coming," Fenris laughed, "You have bested me in combat. As per my word, I shall let you pass unhindered."

Erethyr sheathed her scimitars and heard a noise coming towards her. She quickly ducked and saw a wolf flying over her. "I thought you said that you wouldn't hinder our movement," she exclaimed, obviously outraged.

"That's right; I said that **I** wouldn't. I never said anything about my underlings," Fenris smirked. Erethyr mentally cursed herself. She had fallen prey to one of the oldest tricks in the book. She watched as Xavier and Jeremie were taken out, leaving her to fight ten wolves alone.

Erethyr drew her scimitars and shouted, "I will not go down without a fight, you flea-bitten mongrels!"

"You are going to regret saying that," Fenris growled. All ten of his wolves lunged at Erethyr, attacking in tandem. They tried to catch her catch her off guard, but she swung her blades furiously. She left no opening for the wolves to attack. She beat down all ten of them and turned towards Fenris, death gleaming in her eyes. She was all too aware of the crashing noise behind her. Before she could do anything about it, she was sliced in half by a frost giant.

"Ymir is going to be most displeased with how you were dealing with those intruders," the frost giant warned.

"Tsk, tsk," Fenris stated, "You may not like my methods, but it dealt with the vast majority of them; something that your people seemed incapable of doing. They don't know my wolves' true weakness yet, but I saw their previous fights and how they took down your warriors and those Vikings with ease. I caught them completely off guard at every turn, even going so far as to feign defeat. Really now, you are just too blunt."

"We'll just see what Ymir has to say about this," the frost giant grumbled, leading the way back to the castle.

"I already know what he is going to say," Fenris thought to himself, "Because I did exactly what he designed me to do."

* * *

The Computer Lab

* * *

Xavier was pouring over the information that had been gathered from Sector Five while creating the program. In the few minutes since his defeat on Lyoko, he had already made much headway on it. Erethyr was beating herself up over falling for such an obvious ploy. Odd had handed Ulrich his twenty bucks and was trying to stay as far away from Erethyr as possible. The rest of the group were started to get concerned about Erethyr. They were starting to get worried that she was starting to lose hope that Damon could be brought back. 

"I think that she lost what hope that she had after seeing those monsters," Jeremie said.

"I know what you mean," Yumi responded, "She been looking kind of dejected since she got back. What all happened in there?"

"There were some tough fights," Ulrich explained, "And those monsters seemed to have been designed specifically to take us down. That could have only made things worse for her."

"At least Damon didn't make an appearance himself," Aelita commented.

"Yeah, if he'd shown up I'm sure that she would have lost it," William stated.

"Screw being done by lunch tomorrow," Xavier ecstatically proclaimed, "I should have this done by tonight with all the information I got in Sector Five!"

"We still have one problem though," Yumi stated, trying her hardest not to burst his bubble, "How are we going to fuse the two? It's not like he is just going to give us a big enough opening for one of us to touch it to him."

"I don't think that we are going to have to worry about that," Franz stated, looking grim.

"In spite of sounding trite and cliché, I'm going to ask the question," William sighed, "What do you mean?"

"I just got some more information from Cid," Franz responded, "In two days, not only is SAI going to attack Earth again, but so is Damon."

"This can't be good," Jeremie stated.

"Oh, it gets worse," Franz stated, "That new girl will be here tomorrow. As soon as she gets here, she will be thrown into the middle of this epic conflict."

"Well fuck," Ulrich proclaimed, "This isn't going to be pretty."

* * *

Niffleheim

* * *

"You did well today, Fenris," Ymir declared. 

"Thank you, your majesty," Fenris responded.

"After your fine work today, I think that I shall promote you to be my second in command. In the unlikelihood that something should happen to me and I'm incapable of being the ruler here, you shall take control," Ymir declared.

"I am honored, your majesty," Fenris bowed.

* * *

St. Louis International Airport

* * *

"I can't believe that I'm actually going to be going to France," Cassandra exclaimed. She had shoulder-length blonde hair, hazel eyes, was wearing a black t-shirt that said 'Silence is Golden, Duct Tape is Silver and Easier To Get A Hold Of', white capris, and black Converse sneakers. 

"Indeed," Mr. Malsvir stated, "We can finally get out of this wretched neighborhood. It will be nice to work alongside Gary again."

"You two have been friends since kindergarten," Mrs. Malsvir responded, "I swear, you two are inseparable."

"It's been two years since the last time that I saw Damon," Cassandra said, she had a look of wonderment on her face, "I wonder what he's going to say when he sees his supposedly dead girlfriend in the flesh. OOOH this is going to be sooo exciting!"

"I've been hearing some of the stuff that has been going on in the area, however," Mr. Malsvir declared, "And it is rather disconcerting. Kids, no older than Cassandra, are fighting against some evil rouge AI. Why do they feel as though they are the only ones that can fight this mess? Why not the cops?"

"Maybe because they are the only ones that know how to stop that horrible being's evil plans, dear," Mrs. Malsvir replied.

"All I'm wondering," Cassandra declared, "Is why we haven't gotten our free peanuts yet!"

"Because we're not on the plane yet, sweetie," Mrs. Malsvir responded.

Cassandra sighed when she saw a cart full of airline peanuts, "So many nuts, so little time…"


	30. New Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own Code:Lyoko, some fucking frogs do. So I sent a few biology students out there with some scalpels.

A/N: Heya loyal readers, we have reached chapter 30. It should be a part of last week, but with my recent bout with writer's block, I have to assign it to the new week. I hope that at least some of you liked the return of the action, because you won't be seeing it again for another chapter. I have started to bore with Damon being evil, as some of you might have realized by the end of the last chapter. I just can't really do much more with him being evil, or Cid being locked up. A random thought did cross my mind, however. If anybody would like to read a true back story behind Damon and Cassandra, tell me so in a review and I could start work on it right away. I've spent some time thinking this over, and I realized that it might be a good idea. I've also been thinking about turning Damonic Rapture into an all out series. If that idea seems interesting to any of you, please tell me in a review. Anyway, most of you probably just want to read the story now, so I leave you to it. Please R&R, I will personally come up to anyone that doesn't and shoot spit wads at them until they do.

* * *

"Why are you carrying a diamond with you," Sissi asked Xavier. 

"Official superhero business," Xavier stated, "You wouldn't have a chance at understanding."

"But it's huge," Sissi protested.

"Yes," Xavier declared, sounding exasperated, "And if it goes missing, then I'm going to have to hunt down whoever stole it and make sure that they will never do such a thing again." Sissi decided that it would be a wise idea to back off of the subject.

It was just your average day at school, or as average as can be at Kadic Academy. Principal Delmas had already informed Xavier that he was to show Cassandra around the school, whenever she decided to show up. It wasn't until lunchtime that Jim had brought her there in his car. She flopped out of the car and kissed the ground.

"Oh, come on, Malsvir," Jim protested, "My driving isn't that bad!"

"Isn't that bad! Everybody was driving on the wrong sides of the road the entire way here except you! I'm lucky to be alive," Cassandra shouted, still trying to get the horrible images out of her head. By now several of the students were laughing at the scene.

"She apparently doesn't know that the road systems change when you get out of the states," Jeremie concluded.

Jim was taking her luggage out of the trunk when Odd said, "She is a cutie, though."

"Her first day here and you're already thinking about hitting on her," Ulrich proclaimed, "Come on, at least have some decency."

"Anyway, I've got to go and show her around," Xavier declared, "I'll meet back up with you during science, hopefully." Xavier started walking up to Cassandra. She stood up and looked at the person walking up to her. Her eyes widened when she realized who was walking up to her.

"Hi, my name is Xavier. I'm supposed to be showing you around today."

"I've seen you on TV," Cassandra exclaimed, "I can't believe that I'm meeting a real live superhero! Wait, if you're here, then where's Damon?"

Xavier looked away for a second as Jim stated, "Ah, reminds me of the time I was a tour guide in the Vatican."

"With your driving skills, it's no small wonder that you ever managed to get a job doing that in the first place," Cassandra quipped.

"Ah, I'd rather not talk about it," Jim and Xavier stated together. They looked at each other and blinked profusely. They couldn't believe that they had just said something at the same time. Cassandra, on the other hand, was rolling on the ground with laughter.

"You two should see the looks on your own faces," Cassandra shrieked with laughter, "I wish I had a camera, this is priceless!"

Jim cleared his throat before saying, "I'll take your luggage up to your room. By the time you get up there, I'll also have your bed set up." Jim picked up her duffle bags and a box and walked towards the dorms.

"So, aren't you going to answer my question," Cassandra inquired.

Xavier looked away and said, "That's a fairly painful subject right now."

"What happened," Cassandra asked. She sounded genuinely concerned.

"He kind of died; he told us once that his girlfriend back home died. But he's back, just not as himself," Xavier explained, trying to hold back his emotions at the thoughts racing through his mind.

"First off, I'm standing right here," Cassandra stated, getting a double, no triple, take out of Xavier, "And secondly, what do you mean?"

It took Xavier a little while to recover from the shock of what she had first said. Afterwards, he laughed a little bit before saying, "If you're already asking that question, then you'll fit right into our group."

"You still haven't answered my question," Cassandra stated.

"After I answer your question, could you explain your earlier statement," Xavier asked, "I'm quite understandably confused by it."

"Of course," Cassandra stated.

"Now then, Cassandra," Xavier started, getting ready to give her a brief synopsis of what had happened to Damon, "Damon had been under a lot of stress between saving everybody multiple times, going into a coma, and schoolwork. He eventually broke up with Erethyr in an attempt to protect her. He just lost it after their last fight when she told him that he had broken her heart. I got dragged into it, causing him to go blind with fury. He ended up saving all of again, causing him to finally snap and commit suicide. SAI managed to recreate him, but he couldn't remember a single thing about before he jumped into the digital sea. She deceived him into hating all humans, and now here we are. We are currently preparing to evacuate the area for tomorrow, when they attack." He absent-mindedly pulled the diamond out of his pocket.

Cassandra looked at the jewel, her hazel eyes seeming to glow for a moment. "That holds his memories, doesn't it," she asked.

"Yeah, but how could you have known that," Xavier responded.

"I have my ways," Cassandra waved off, "As for your question, I did die; but I was brought back to life shortly thereafter and couldn't contact Damon. I was hoping to see him here and surprise him."

Xavier's forehead glowed as he started to formulate a plan. "You might still have that chance; come on, I'll introduce my friends to you."

"Shouldn't it be the other way around," Cassandra asked.

"Since you already knew who I was, then you will already know who they are," Xavier replied.

"I guess that makes sense," Cassandra laughed. Xavier walked over to the rest of the group; Sissi had long since slunk away.

"Guys, and ladies," Xavier declared, "I would like all of you to meet Cassandra."

"Just call me Queen of the Living Non-Dead Persons Association," Cassandra joked. She got a laugh out of everybody except Erethyr.

"Why that name," Erethyr asked.

"Well seeing as how I'm Damon's supposedly dead girlfriend, but I'm actually alive; the name kind of fits," Cassandra stated. She got the same shocked expression from everybody there.

"I don't think that I want to explain just how impossible that is right now," Jeremie groaned.

"It's just as impossible as someone's memories being concentrated into a diamond and being separated from them," Cassandra retorted.

"I'm guessing that Xavier explained that to you," Aelita said.

"Great job Xavier," Odd groaned, "Why don't we just induct her into the save the world committee!"

"Actually," Xavier smirked, "That is a part of my plan."

"Now for the catchphrase," William stated, "What do you mean?"

"With her help, we might just be able to get the upper hand on Damon and SAI tomorrow," Xavier explained, "Given that you want to Cassandra."

"Of course," Cassandra stated, "I'd love to help you guys out!"

"I don't know," Jeremie stated.

"I think that we are going to need all the help that we are going to get," Yumi stated.

"With the combined forces of SAI and Damon," Erethyr commented, "We are going to be in a bind."

"Let's take a vote," Ulrich declared, "Raise your hands if you want to at least give Cassandra a chance." The only ones that didn't raise their hands were Jeremie and Aelita.

"It's settled then," Xavier proclaimed as he turned to Cassandra, "As Odd put it, welcome to the save the world committee." There were many congratulations for Cassandra and her knew role in the group.

"We'll take you to the factory after school," Yumi declared.

"Is that your super secret headquarters or something," Cassandra inquired.

"Kind of," Xavier laughed. Xavier remembered that he was supposed to be showing Cassandra around the school and proceeded to do so. After a couple of hours they ended up back at her dorm room. They walked in and saw that Jim had indeed done what he had said he was going to do.

"So this is my room," Cassandra stated, "Hey, before school gets out; do you want to help me set up my stuff?"

"Sure, I guess," Xavier responded. He proceeded to help her. He set up her bedding while she put away her clothes. They teamed together to help her out with her other stuff. He was immediately surprised by what he saw. He saw a mortar and pestle, some herbs, and a couple of leather bound books. He looked at her inquisitively.

"What, can't a girl be into Wicca," Cassandra asked. Xavier decided to let it drop as he finished helping her set up her room. The bell rang, signaling that classes were over for the day.

"Let's just meet up with them at the factory, they'll probably be waiting for us," Xavier stated. Cassandra nodded and they journeyed to the factory. When they got there, the rest of the group was indeed waiting for him.

"We're just going to be scanning you into the super calculator and uploading a program into your real form," Jeremie declared, "The program has been improved since the one that was used on us, so you won't have the waiting period that we did."

"What does this program do," Cassandra asked.

"It allows you to go into your Lyoko form here on Earth," Aelita explained.

"That's awesome," Cassandra exclaimed, "So what are your superhero codenames?"

"Um, we don't have codenames," Yumi stated.

"Why not," Cassandra asked.

"Because we are too well known," Ulrich stated, "Kind of like the Fantastic Four."

"Oh, I get it now," Cassandra replied. They headed to the computer lab, and Cassandra was in awe.

"Why don't you head down into one of the scanners," Franz stated, "We'll start the process immediately. Cassandra nodded and took the elevator down to the scanner room. She hesitantly walked into one of the scanners. It closed behind her. The process started immediately. Her hair was blown into the air, by some unfelt wind. A pale green light shimmered over her as she started to lift. It took her about three minutes to be fully scanned into the super calculator; she had felt it when the program was input into her genetic code. She stumbled out of the scanner as soon as the doors opened, only to be caught by Xavier.

"That was really weird," Cassandra stated.

"Yeah, it takes a little while to get used to," Xavier chuckled. They headed up to the computer lab so that she could find out what she could do on Lyoko, and Earth by proxy.

"You appear to be a witch," Franz declared.

"What all can I do," Cassandra inquired.

"You can shoot lightning and heal without expending any life points," Franz replied, "You can also throw fireballs, but that will cost you about five life points per blast."

"Shock good, fire bad, gotcha," Cassandra stated, getting a few laughs, "So what do I look like?"

"Why don't you just show us," Ulrich stated, "Think 'Lyoko' and you will be transformed."

"Okay," Cassandra hesitantly responded, "I'll try it." She closed her eyes and did as she was told. She transformed before their very eyes. Instead of her normal garb, she was now dressed in a white jumpsuit with a v-cut neck. She was wearing black gloves and boots. On her gloves were white pentagrams. She found a reflective surface in the room and marveled at how she looked.

"Dead sexy," Odd whistled. This caused her to blush.

"How do I change back," Cassandra asked.

"Just reverse the process," William offered. She did just that and transformed back into her normal attire.

"Let's head back and introduce you as the newest member of our group," Aelita stated, "I can't wait to see the look on Sissi's face when she hears this." The headed back to school and were immediately confronted by Sissi.

"What is the meaning of this," she shrieked, "Why is it that only the new people are allowed into your group! What about me!"

"To be frank," Odd stated, "You are an ignorant, self-centered, pompous bitch."

"Who's Frank," Erethyr asked, setting up the joke.

"Oh, he's just this random guy that tells it like it is," Cassandra declared. Everybody in earshot was laughing as Sissi stormed off.

"Well, that's certainly one way to become a full-fledged member of our little group," Xavier stated, "Sissi-bashing, the All-Lyokoan Pasttime."


	31. Final Battle

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. I fucked up at the last second and that attack will not work again…goddammit. Also, I am not a Wicca. I do not cast any spells. I merely looked up a spell online to use in this chapter. Before you send me hate mail about writing a spell, view it in its context first.

A/N: Hey, loyal readers! Welcome to chapter 31. I know that welcoming Cassandra into the group so quickly didn't make sense to a lot of you, but there was a good reason for it. Xavier was the one who suggested it and declared that it was a part of his plan. Usually, that means that the object in question is absolutely necessary for what needs to be done. Only Jeremie and Aelita were unsure as to the success of his plan. I did promise you another action chapter this time, so here it is. This chapter may seem like a rehash of a previous chapter, but I'm just coming up with these as I go. Please don't refuse to read any more of my story just because of a few so-so chapters. Anyway, let's move on to another intense action chapter. Please R&R, I will snap you with a wet towel if you don't.

* * *

It was eight o' clock in the morning, the day of the reported attack. Kadic Academy was abuzz with activity. Most of the students and faculty were planning an evacuation. The only ones remaining were the Lyoko warriors, in their Lyoko outfits, and the best archers out of the entire school. Cassandra was casting a simple Wicca spell for her and Erethyr. Xavier was explaining the plan to those that had stayed behind. 

"Please god, please goddess, make this day bring happiness and love to me and Erethyr, and make us both have a happy and successful day today and bring us love and happiness and success together this evening and night. Thank you too, for the help you have given us," Cassandra and Erethyr prayed. Both of them felt warmth in their bodies.

"Are you sure that this will work," Erethyr asked.

"If you felt the same wave of warmth that I did, then I'm positive that it will," Cassandra answered.

"Maybe we will be able to bring Damon back today," Erethyr said hopefully.

"I'm sure we will," Cassandra replied, hugging Erethyr.

"Do you cast these spells often," Erethyr inquired.

"No, I only cast them when they are absolutely necessary," Cassandra replied, "To do otherwise might invoke the wrath of Goddess."

"Let's just hope that the plan will work," Erethyr declared.

"That's all that we can do at this point, hope and pray," Cassandra responded.

Xavier was looking over the preparations for the arming of the students that had decided to stay. Some of them were given the tools necessary to make flaming arrows. The others were just given normal munitions. "Alright," Xavier proclaimed, "Remember, your job is to stay out of sight while giving us important back-up. Whenever possible, Jim, try to take out Cid and SAI. If you can't take out SAI, don't worry about it. Franx has uploaded a program into me specifically designed to separate her from her core. Those of you that were given the flaming munitions are going to be going after the frost giants and the wolves. The Vikings might not be affected by your arrows, so don't waste your ammo on them. Aelita and Jeremie will be staying up here for further support. Yumi has taken on the additional mission of getting Cid out of Lyoko. If our plan succeeds, we will not only get back Damon and Cid, but we also be able to take out SAI. Maybe we could even convince her like she did Damon, if we get lucky. Have I made myself clear!"

"Sir, yes sir," Jim saluted. The others just murmured their assent. Jeremie and Aelita came up to the roof at that point.

"I just got a message from Franz," Jeremie stated, "He said that SAI and Damon have just mobilized and are on their way here."

"Great timing," Xavier exclaimed, "Is everybody in place?"

"Yes, they are in the strategic places that you told them to be in," Aelita declared, "You do realize the amount of property damage that will be involved, right?"

"Yes I do," Xavier grimaced, "But if all goes well, we won't have to worry about that ever again. The fight will finally be over."

Odd teleported in front of them, startling everyone. "Twenty crabs, fifteen tarantulas, and a megatank have just been sighted approaching the school through the forest," Odd reported, "I'm just wondering, why do you want me to play "Break, Break, Break Dance" over the intercom once Damon's forces have arrived?"

"Odd," Xavier laughed, "I have listened to it. I saw that it actually cracked a thick layer of ice. If I'm right, it will weaken all of Damon's forces. They should all have one common vulnerability…sound."

"That's kind of insulting," Odd grumbled. Everybody on the roof of the science building couldn't help but laugh at his remark. Odd decided to make a wisecrack at Xavier's response. "Are you covering your weak spot?"

"I'll have you know that I'm wearing a nut cup over shock absorbers, thank you very much," Xavier huffed. This brought forth a new round of laughter as Odd teleported back to where he was supposed to be.

"I'll have to ask you later about that one," Jim laughed, "That is if we make it through this." At that comment, the first wave of monsters walked out of the forest. There were twelve crabs walking out onto the soccer field.

The Ulrichs three ran at them at high speed, their swords drawn. They were dodging the laser fire, slaloming so as to still push on without getting hit. They decided to chop off the crabs' front legs first, allowing Cassandra to cast her lightning and finish them off. In the process, one of the Ulrich clones was destroyed, but the mission continued as planned. Xavier saw something in the distance getting destroyed as he made his way to the bottom floor of the science building.

"Odd, why didn't you tell us that mantas were coming," Xavier groaned as he exited the science building. He watched as one of the Ulrich sliced the front legs off of the last crab and Cassandra destroyed it. "Looks like she's a natural." The other Ulrich had grabbed William's sword and was spinning him around, preparing him for his attack. He let go when the next eight crabs and seven tarantulas came out of the forest and sixteen mantas were flying overhead, with SAI and the faux Cid riding two of them. There was a news copter flying overhead, filming the action for the evening news; Odd was on board to give them protection.

"Well, that explains Odd," Xavier commented as he launched the first arrow at the mantas. The other archers followed suit. William was barreling straight towards them; he had decided to hold his sword lengthwise in front of him so as to block the incoming laser fire. That was when he remembered an attack that he had used while under the influence of SAI. He held his sword in front of him and concentrated on sending energy arcs out. Every fifth spin he released a blade of energy, cutting all the legs off of the crabs first before destroying the tarantulas. When he closed the gap between him and the remaining monsters, the eight limbless crabs and the two tarantulas, he decided to angle himself downwards to slice anything that might be on the ground and offer himself better protection from their attacks. He made short work of his enemies.

The archers were also doing a good job. They had taken out all of the mantas and the two humanoid enemies had fallen from a great height to the ground. SAI had used her umbrella as both shield and parachute to fall safely. The faux Cid wasn't so lucky; he had hit the ground hard and was instantly destroyed when he hit the ground. The second that he hit the ground, after falling a couple of hundred feet first, he vanished in a cloud of silver smoke. When SAI landed, she separated her sword from her shield and got ready to assault her nearest enemy. Erethyr decided to step up to face her, scimitars drawn and a look of unimaginable fury in her face. SAI stepped back, remembering a similar look that Damon had given her a month earlier in his own mind. The remaining eight tarantulas stepped out of the forest and the megatank rolled out at this time.

* * *

SAI's Orb

* * *

"I'm glad that Cid has figured out this place," Yumi muttered, "I don't know how I could have gotten in if he hadn't. Now which way did he say to go?" She opened one of the doors and stopped dead in her tracks. Right there was Cid and a scyphozoa floating right behind him. 

"Oh, hi," Cid said, slightly surprised by her entrance, but trying not to show it.

"Watch out," Yumi shouted, bringing out her fans, "There's a scyphozoa behind you!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa; hold the phone," Cid proclaimed, getting in between her and the scyphozoa, "This is Donjuan, he is how I've been able to get information to you guys. If it weren't for him, I might be fighting alongside just to try and get out of this silvery hellhole."

"What is 'Donjuan' doing right here then," Yumi inquired suspiciously.

"I'm using a program similar to the one that SAI used to recreate Damon so that I can transfer Donjuan into a form that can be brought back with us," Cid explained.

"Still seems kind of fishy to me," Yumi stated as she put up her fans.

"I'm actually on the last part of the procedure," Cid declared, "This is where my approach will be different from SAI's. I will be transferring a bit of my own power into Donjuan so that he can actually make the transition into his battle form. He will also have an Earth form, so that he can still be my best friend."

"What will his Earth form be," Yumi hesitantly asked.

"A black cat with yellow eyes that can speak," Cid proclaimed.

Yumi was almost too creeped out to ask her next question. "What will his battle form be?" She prepared herself for any response to her question.

"A black saber-toothed tiger with blazing yellow eyes and two electric blue tentacles on its shoulders," Cid responded as he started the process. Yumi was flabbergasted at what she was seeing. Cid put his hand on Donjuan; he started glowing gold as he first transformed into the regular cat. He regained his original form as Donjuan transformed into this form, spreading from where Cid's paw was placed. Then Cid repeated this same process with the battle form. After the process was complete, Cid collapsed to the ground and was panting heavily.

"How many life points does he have left, Franz," Yumi asked as she ran over to help him up. Donjuan did likewise, creeping out Yumi slightly.

"What he did was very risky, he has only one life point left," Franz declared, "If he would have lost that last life point, he would have been deleted."

"Cid," Yumi exclaimed, "What were you thinking?!"

"I've been pretty useless so far," Cid panted, "I just figured that I had to do something to redeem myself after what SAI has been using my form for."

"Franz," Yumi proclaimed, "Do you think that you could upload that program into Cid when you devirtualize us?"

"I've actually been running a diagnostic on his power," Franz responded, "I don't need to do a single thing thanks to SAI. She has manipulated his DNA already to the point where he can transform into any living creature He already has everything that he needs. Unfortunately, I won't be able to devirtualize any of you until you exit SAI's orb. Donjuan should be able to help you out there."

"Think that you can help, Donny," Yumi asked. Donjuan seemed to smile at his new nickname and nodded. "Looks like we have a new ally in this fight. We might be able to attack Damon from the rear after the rest of the guys have finished with SAI." Yumi set Cid on top of Donjuan and they set off to the exit. They wuickly got out of the orb and Franz devirtualized them. As soon as they stepped out of the scanners, Yumi noticed that Donny was now in his regular cat form.

"We must hurry if your plan is going to succeed," Donny declared as he headed to the elevator. Cid was stumbling close behind.

Yumi stared at Donny for a second before mumbling, "It is going to take a while to get used to that." She followed them into the elevator and they headed up to the ground floor. While on their way, Donny assumed his battle form while Cid and Yumi assumed their Lyoko forms.

* * *

Kadic Academy

* * *

Ulrich and William were fighting the tarantulas. Cassandra had opted to fight against the megatank. They had disagreed at first, but she got them to agree easily. Erethyr was having an Old West stand-off with SAI with Xavier just waiting in the shadows, ready to strike SAI at her weakest moment. 

William was having momentary troubles, his sword was ungainly; its weight wasn't allowing him to block as deftly as Ulrich could while still being able to attack. He had to choose between a strong defense or a powerful offense. He had opted for the defense option in an attempt to draw fire away from Ulrich so that he could swoop in quickly and destroy one then go back behind cover. They made quick work of the eight tarantulas. They looked over to see how Cassandra was doing and William blocked a horizontal blast that was coming out.

Cassandra was having different troubles. She couldn't see where the weak spot of the megatank was. She was doing her best to dodge the monster's wall of energy whenever it was fired at her. After about ten minutes of dodging, Cassandra finally saw the weak spot; it was only visible when the megatank was attacking. The tank rolled over on its side and fired a blast. The megatank had managed to make slices into the school, but was stopped this time by William blocking the attack. Cassandra ducked under it and launched a lightning bolt into the monster. The megatank was destroyed and the air where it had been still crackled with a little bit of electricity.

Erethyr was locked in heavy combat with SAI. They were blocking and parrying each other's attacks. Neither one had a clear advantage over the other. Throughout this battle, Erethyr had been leveling the same baleful glare towards SAI while backing up. She was hoping to give Xavier the opportunity that he needed. Then she got her chance. She had backed up into the wall of the cafeteria. SAI looked gleeful, thinking that Erethyr had nowhere to go. She lunged at Erethyr, and she jumped out of the way. SAI's sword got stuck into the wall. She tried ferociously to pull it out, but it wouldn't budge. Erethyr decided to sheathe her blades and walk around to the other side of her opponent. She grabbed SAI's shield and yanked it from her grasp. SAI looked fearful for her life at this point. Erethyr merely turned to the side and SAI eyes went wide. She finally saw that Xavier had an arrow ready to fire. He fired it and it went through her head. She vanished in a puff of silver smoke, but on the ground about six feet away from where she had been was a turquoise jewel with a hole in the middle of it.

Everybody but Jeremie and Aelita ran over to the spot where it lay. Cassandra picked up and examined it. After a few moments, she cheered triumphantly and held it above her head. The rest of the group joined her jubilation. It didn't last long however.

Damon's full forces came stomping out of the forest, destroying all of the landscape in their wake. Odd took his cue and teleported to Principal Delmas's office. He already had the music set up, all he had to do was press play and activate the intercom. He waited until he saw thirty frost giants, twenty Vikings, and fifty wolves to set forth the plan. The loud music played over the intercom. All of the humans put earplugs on so that they wouldn't succumb to the sound. The monster's weren't so lucky; they were howling in pain. The frost giants had deep cracks running through their bodies, just like Xavier had predicted.

The Earth defenders went to work. Cassandra took out most of the frost giants in a single fireball and was panting heavily afterwards. "I guess that takes a lot out of me…"

Ulrich and William were assaulting the Vikings in their weakened condition. They even forwent the top tactic. Within a minute, all of the Vikings were destroyed. They decided that it would be a good idea to step away from the fight while the archers had their way with the wolves.

There were arrows flying all over the battlefield, both flaming and normal. The archers were acting as clean-up. Jeremie and Aelita were combining their attacks and throwing purple orbs at the remaining frost giants. Within moments, the battlefield was empty. "Remember," Jeremie declared, "Since SAI's gone now, if you see Cid don't shoot at him!" Almost as if on cue, Cid and Yumi were thrown out of the forest. They both looked battered and bruised as they landed twenty feet away from the forest's edge. Cid looked the worse for wear and appeared to be holding something in his arms. Ulrich duplicated himself and they ran over to them. They picked them up and carried them back to Cassandra and Erethyr where they could do their magic. Cassandra and Erethyr both glowed white as their healing powers were activated. The damage seemed to melt away from them.

Cid was the first to open his eyes. He looked down at what he was holding in his hands and breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Erethyr and said, "He's coming, and he brought reinforcements. I hope you guys have a plan, he has enough monsters with him to conquer most of Europe."

Cid looked over to Cassandra and she said, "You're looking at her." She had a very friendly smile on her face as Yumi woke up.

"Is Donny alright," Yumi asked.

"Yeah, when they healed us, they also healed him," Cid replied. Donny chose now to stir.

"Ugh, what hit me," Donny said, getting a look of surprise from everyone within earshot save for Yumi and Cid, "Frosty, Tin Man, Fido, or Vanilla Ass…" Cassandra, Cid, Yumi and Erethyr couldn't help but laugh at this bad joke. Cassandra looked towards the forest and saw the horde of monsters barreling out of it, with Ymir in the lead. One of the Ulrichs was clenching the diamond in his hand, ready to run at Ymir to turn him back into Damon.

Their eyes locked and Ymir had another vision of events that he couldn't remember happening. He saw himself holding a girl with a bullet wound in her chest in his hands. He remembered crying over her limp form. He could even remember her name. "ca-ca-cassandra…" Ymir mumbled, confusion and shock mingling over his face. Ulrich rushed into action, not wanting to miss what could be his only chance to get his friend back. He ran at Ymir using his super sprint. Before he could stir from his reverie, Ulrich had already slammed the jewel into his forehead. It made a ripple effect as it submerged into place. Ymir's eyes seemed to focus; they changed flickered from ice blue to brown before changing back. The black in his hair blanked out until it was white with red tips. He held his head and groaned painfully.

One frost giant inquired, "Ymir, your majesty, are you alright?"

He turned to look at the frost giant and stated, "My name is Damon, bitch! Learn it, live it, get crushed by it!" Damon cracked his knuckles and punched it. His punch had enough force behind it to shatter the frost giant. "I'm gonna give all you bitches a lesson in pain!" Damon went to town on his former army.

Erethyr turned to Xavier and asked, "What the hell happened to him?!"

"Um, when I was reformatting his memory I thought that it might be a good idea if he didn't remember what all caused him to leap into the digital sea," Xavier offered, "I figured that you might like it better if he didn't remember breaking up with you…"

Erethyr thought about it for a second then said, "Good thinkin'." She decided to join her boyfriend in battle.

"Wow, a lot has changed in the couple of years since I died," Cassandra gasped.

"Actually, most of it happened in the last three months," Yumi commented as she threw her fans at some wolves. Cid was grinning gleefully as he pulled out his revolvers and was shooting at the Vikings, using the same strategy that his clone had used on Xavier before. Xavier shrugged and started firing arrows at the frost giants. Aelita and Jeremie were firing at all of the enemies from the roof of the science building, alongside all of the archers.

Cassandra took a step back and surveyed the situation. The second leg of the battle against Damon's ex-forces started out at being twenty to one. Once Damon had reverted back to being himself, this had changed drastically. Within a couple of minutes, the fight had turned to being ten to one. It had helped that the wolves had all vanished after Damon started killing his own forces; the only one that had stayed was the biggest one of them all. Cassandra decided to focus all of her attention on this one, but was stopped when the black cat had become a black saber-toothed tiger with blue tentacles coming out of its shoulder blades. This new player in the fight was confronting this giant wolf.

The two circled around each other, sizing each other up. "Don't you know that the feline always loses to the canine," Fenris taunted.

"Let's test that theory, shall we," Donjuan growled. Fenris lunged at him. Donny just smirked and sidestepped the oversized wolf. Donny wrapped his tentacles around the wolf's neck and suspended him in midair. Fenris was gasping for breath, trying to cut the tentacles with his paws.

Cassandra took the hint and yelled, "TASTE MY LIGHTNING!" She held her hand out, making the 'metal sign.' The lightning crackled between her fingertips before launching out and electrocuting Fenris.

"Mmmm, barbecue," Donny purred as Fenris vanished in a puff of blackened snow.

Damon and friends were still having a little bit of trouble. Damon was pinned beneath a frost giant, trying to wrestle his way out of the situation. Erethyr was fighting three Vikings simultaneously, holding her own but not quite getting killing blows in. William and Ulrich were surrounded by Vikings with their backs to each other. The archers had run out of arrows. Jeremie and Aelita were getting exhausted from using up so much energy. Yumi's arms were tired from throwing her fans. And last, but not least, Cid was starting to run out of ammo.

Xavier shot an arrow at the frost giant pinning Damon to the ground. "I think that we're even," Xavier commented. Damon laughed as he activated his Lyoko power. He was sheathed in ice armor and decided to help out Erethyr. He grabbed two of the three Vikings by their necks, and crushed them. Erethyr filleted the remaining Viking and they wet off to help Ulrich and William. Before they could get there, Cid and Donny ran up to them and had a field day. Donny lifted two Vikings by their necks and used them as flails to crush the others. Cid's sword was flashing as he went from Viking to Viking, decapitating them. Ulrich and William stood there in shock when Damon and Erethyr ran up and cleaned up the rest of them. Damon dismissed his ice armor and his skin, which had been turning blue, returned to its original color.

"Man," Damon stated, "I just hate giving people the cold shoulder, but sometimes they just deserve the chilly reception." Everybody just laughed as they surveyed the surroundings.

"It's going to take quite a while to repair this place," Erethyr stated, "But I'm sure that given the situation, the government would be happy to help out."

"The hard part will be explaining how I, who was supposed to be dead, came back as an enemy and turned into an ally," Damon shrugged as Donny turned back into a normal black cat. Everybody took his signal and transformed back into their regular forms in a flash of zeroes and ones. The only one that didn't change was Damon.

"Why don't you try changing back Damon," Ulrich asked.

"Um, I can't…"Damon mumbled.

"Why not," William asked.

"Because when SAI recreated him, she didn't give him an Earth form," Xavier explained, "What you see is what you get."

"That's just cold," Damon proclaimed as Odd teleported down there to meet them. They all just collapsed laughing.

"I have a feeling that all of these ice jokes aren't going to be ending anytime soon," Cassandra laughed.

"Cassandra," Damon said, "I thought you were dead. How can you be here…and alive?!"

"I'd rather not talk about it right now," Cassandra replied curtly, "I'm just glad to see that you are happy now."

"Yeah, it's a relief to be the one getting saved instead of the one doing the saving for once," Damon sighed happily.

"Guess that relieved all the stress that you were feeling," Erethyr stated.

"But…how did you…" Damon stuttered.

"It's been obvious in your eyes since we retrieved Xavier's orb," Erethyr replied. Damon just blushed.

"I'm sorry for all the grief that I put all of you through today," Damon stated.

"It's alright," Yumi said as she was walking up, "We understand the situation better than you think."

"I'm sorry to say this guys," Xavier said, "But some day I want to bring SAI back, like she was before she got infected with that virus I had. She was a good person back then."

"How do you think that you could do that," Erethyr inquired apprehensively.

"With my help," Cid offered, "I saw how she recreated Damon, she just didn't know it."

"You're willing to help recreate the one that captured you," Ulrich said, sounding completely shocked. Everyone but Xavier had the same look of shock on their faces.

"She showed her true nature occasionally while I was her captive," Cid explained, "She was actually a good person once, from what I saw through in the fleeting glimpses I got."

"You would be right," Xavier said, "Thank god that I hit the right spot in her core. If I hadn't, the virus wouldn't have been destroyed. She won't remember anything but me at first though. Again, something to be thankful for."

"Well, I hope that you two will be happy together when you two are finally reunited," Cassandra proclaimed.

Construction crews showed up an hour later, along with most of the students and a few government officials. They questioned the group about Damon; they assured the agents that Damon was one of the good guys again. They explained the entire situation. One of the agents nodded and said, "Alright, the government will be happy to pay for Kadic Academy's reconstruction. The only reason why we are willing to do this is because of the services that all of you have rendered in the past. You will be able to return to school in about a month." The agents walked off, leaving a very relieved group.

"Well, that's over," Odd said, "It's just too bad that the cafeteria got destroyed. It's lunchtime now, and I'm starving."

"But, how do you-" Cassandra asked before getting cut off by the lunch bell, "Never mind."

"You have to realize," Erethyr said, putting an arm over Cassandra's shoulder, "He's just a purple pig with sweaty palms." Cassandra laughed at this comment, and everybody but the two girls and Damon handed Odd twenty bucks apiece.

"I told all of you that after this battle she would make that joke again," Odd stated, "But none of you believed me."

"How long was I evil," Damon asked.

"About a week," William declared.

"Wow, it felt like less time than that had passed," Damon declared, "Now then, any of you that will be rendered homeless while the school is being reconstructed will be more than welcome to temporarily move in at my place. I'm sure that my parents will be more than happy to help you guys out…MY PARENTS!!! They're probably worried sick about me; I've got to go!" Damon ran off towards home, leaving a few shocked faces. Odd was upset, however, as he had to give back all the money.

"Just two more minutes and I would have been making bank," Odd grumbled, getting some cheap laughs at his expense.

* * *

Damon's House

* * *

There was a knocking at the door. Mr. and Mrs. Lerath looked at each other. They weren't expecting company today, so they were fairly confused. Mrs. Lerath opened the door, and saw a white-haired kid on the steps. 

"Mom…" Damon said. Mrs. Lerath leaped forward and hugged her child.

"Who is it dear," Mr. Lerath asked.

"It's Damon," Mrs. Lerath exclaimed, "He finally made it back home safely!"

She ushered Damon in and the first thing that Mr. Lerath said was, "Why the sudden change from white to black?"

"Not my idea," Damon laughed, "But I actually kind of like it. I think that I will be keeping it, minus the clothes. I think that this will be my Lyoko form from now on."

"But if you're home, doesn't that mean that the fight is over," Mr. Lerath asked.

"No," Damon stated, "While I was there for that extended period, I felt a deeper evil. The fight is not over, but it probably won't be continuing here. Oh, by the way, I was hoping that you would be able to board my currently homeless friends for a little while. The school got kind of busted up during the fight; and not from the part with the monsters that I had created while I was bereft of my memories either." Damon pouted at this.

"Why do you seem upset at this," Mrs. Lerath inquired, sounding fairly confused.

"All that I've ever wanted to do when given half the chance, was to cause rampant destruction," Damon pouted, "Is that so much to ask for…"

"Well, you did destroy part of the forest, didn't you," Mr. Lerath inquired.

Damon immediately perked up at this, "I guess you're right." The Lerath family couldn't help but laugh at this statement.

After the laughing had stopped, Mr. Lerath said, "Sure, we'd be glad to help out your friends. After all, they had a big hand in bringing you back to us."

"Especially Cassandra," Damon commented, "I'll explain later. Even I don't understand it yet."

And so, the greatest battle in the fight against virtual evil was ended. The fighting wasn't finished yet, but at least they would be able to have a respite from all the fighting…for now. It would be another six months before any sign of evil would raise its ugly head.


	32. Interivews

Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. I decided to give them a little break….until Damonic Rapture 2! BWAHAHAHAHA….okay I'm done now… (Slinks off into the shadows)

A/N: Hey peoples! I know that I already had the story declared complete, but I needed to wrap something up. With a little bit of prodding from KatNGoomi, I decided to put the back story behind Damon and Cassandra in this story as opposed to making a whole new fanfic for it. You might be wondering about the title; well, I drew a little bit of inspiration from Gforce4's second Code: Lyoko radioplay and decided to have Millie and Tamiya interview the Lyoko group. If you haven't read Code Lyoko: A Retelling, you need to, it's fucking sweet. Gforce4 is the author of it, and he also made two radioplays, which are also fucking sweet! But now I'm just plugging one of my favorite stories. Anyway, back to me. I will be posting the sequel in about a month's time, so keep your eyes peeled for it. I just have to do some research for it first. Now on with the true final chapter of Damonic Rapture. I don't care if you R&R this chapter, you're all going to get covered in black stuff either way.

* * *

Two students were standing in front of the cafeteria two months after the final battle against SAI. One was a red-haired girl holding a microphone and the other was an African-American girl holding a video camera. These two students were Millie and Tamiya, respectively. 

"Hello, we're Millie and Tamiya, junior newscasters of the newly remodeled Kadic Academy," Millie announced, "And we've decided to interview the Lyoko group and find out some never-before seen information on the inside of the group. If we're lucky we might finally be able to answer the greatest question of them all. What happened over two years ago with Damon." They walked around for a few minutes and eventually found Odd.

"Hey, Odd," Millie shouted, "We've got an interview to do with you!"

"Always glad to help out girls," Odd beamed, "What do you want to know?"

"Well, we were wanting to know what you think your greatest achievement in the Lyoko group has been to date," Tamiya asked.

"Oh that's easy," Odd proclaimed, "I was the first one to get virtualized onto Lyoko!"

"Could you tell us more," Millie implored.

"Okay, well this is kinda funny but kinda not," Odd laughed, "Jeremie found the super computer and found out that you could virtualize real world objects. I had just come here and Ulrich really didn't like Kiwi. So he took Kiwi to the factory. I followed him with Sissi in hot pursuit. When we got to the scanner room, I walked into the scanner and picked up Kiwi. Kiwi leaped out of my hands and the scanner shut me in. The rest is history."

"Wow, that is actually really funny," Tamiya laughed.

"What are you talking about," Millie exclaimed, "Odd just admitted that Ulrich was willing to use Kiwi like a guinea pig!" The two continued fighting and Odd took the opportunity to slink off before it got ugly.

* * *

An Hour Later

* * *

"Well, Odd managed to give us the slip," Millie muttered into her microphone, "But here we have Ulrich and Yumi. So tell us, when will you two actually admit your feelings to one another?" 

"Well, actually," Yumi said, "A while back I told Ulrich that I was tired of these little games and that we should just be friends."

"But we ended up going at it again, remember," Ulrich countered.

"Oh yeah, that was when I was starting to kind of like William," Yumi admitted, "But about two weeks later I changed my mind and he ended up joining the group, despite my protesting." Yumi crossed her arms and stared at Ulrich, who was clueless to the hint that she had just given him.

"What," Ulrich asked, "What did I do?"

"Boys," Yumi said under her breath.

"Anyway, onto the next question," Millie said hurriedly, trying to stop the lover's quarrel, "When was the first time that Damon really opened up to all of you?"

"That was about a week after he came here," Yumi said, "You see, we ended up allowing him into our group after Xavier, whom we called XANA at the time, kidnapped him and brought him to Lyoko. At the time we thought that Xavier was still an evil computer virus, but he was just trying to get some help so that he could save SAI from the computer virus that had been transferred into her when Lyoko was destroyed then reformed. SAI had control of William at the time, so we were in some deep shit. Thanks to Erethyr we ended up saving Damon."

"Could we get back to the question Yumi," Ulrich asked.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that," Yumi apologized, "Well, he was really aloof about himself; so, on the way to school one morning I decided to ask him about his past. He did, much to my surprise, but I took it a little bit too far. I didn't know that it was the anniversary of Cassandra's death at the time. We ended up having to go to the factory and stopping him from committing suicide. That was when he started to really open up and act like we were his real friends."

"Well, a couple of days later," Ulrich stated, "SAI took control of a tower and made a monster made out of stuff in the cafeteria. We thought that it was Xavier at the time, so we fought accordingly. The monster was made out of pots, pans, trays, eating utensils, and…mystery meat. Odd and I were trying to stop this fiend when Damon saved both of us. He told Odd to go to the factory with Erethyr, who was an AI in his Zune at the time. Well, the cafeteria was demolished and we ended up taking it to the soccer field. Damon saved my life that day and almost got killed in the process. The tower was deactivated and we launched a return to the past so that the damage would be undone. He paid us back for saving his life that day, but he ended up having to save us from a lot more in the following months. All of that compounded on him and he ended up committing suicide and now here we are. SAI made him look the way that he does now, and from what I can tell he likes his new look."

"Wow, that's a lot more than we asked for," Millie said, "Thanks, we gotta find the others now."

"Aelita and Jeremie should be in his room right about now," Ulrich offered.

"Thanks," Millie said as she and Tamiya headed off to the resident Einstein's room.

* * *

Jeremie's Room

* * *

Jeremie was at his computer with Aelita looking over his shoulder when he heard a knock at the door. "Who is it," Aelita called. 

"It's Millie and Tamiya," Tamiya declared, "We want to interview you."

"Come on in," Jeremie declared. Millie and Tamiya came into the room.

"So, why have you decided to interview us," Jeremie inquired.

"We were wanting to get the skivvy on the local heroes," Millie stated matter-of-factly.

"Well we'd be glad to take part in this," Aelita said as Jeremie turned around in his seat, "What do you want to know?"

"Well, we were wondering about the origins of the group," Millie stated.

"Oh, that's easy," Jeremie proclaimed, "I went down to the factory a little over two years ago looking for scrap parts to make some robots with. I ended up finding the super calculator and turned it on. That's when I found Aelita. That's when XANA, who now calls himself Xavier, woke up and started to attack the real world. One by one I got Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi to go into Lyoko while I ran the computer to stop him. Back then, I was working on materializing Aelita so that she could live in the real world with us. That is how it all began. Then about half a year ago, Lyoko was destroyed and we had to rebuild it. Apparently when it was destroyed, the virus that had been infected Xavier passed on to SAI, who quickly stole all his power. That is when Damon got involved. That is really about it for the origins. Did that help any?"

"Loads," Tamiya exclaimed, "But it's about lunchtime now, so we got to hurry down to the cafeteria, we might even be able to catch Damon and Cassandra down there and get their back story."

"Well, I wouldn't be too hopeful," Aelita stated, "Ever since he almost committed suicide that first time, he hasn't really been too willing to talk about it. Why don't we join you down there and try to pump the information out of him?"

"Thanks," Millie squealed with excitement as they left Jeremie's room and made their way to the cafeteria.

* * *

The Cafeteria

* * *

Damon, Erethyr, Ulrich, Yumi, and Cassandra were all in the cafeteria when the quartet entered. They rushed up to the heroes and immediately started up their interview. 

"Come on Damon," Millie whined, "Oh viewers really want to know what happened a couple of years ago with Cassandra!"

"And I really don't want to talk about it," Damon exclaimed. That was when Sissi walked up.

"Have you come to your senses and decided to interview me, instead of these freaks" Sissi inquired, flipping her hair.

"Let me handle this," Damon stated as he stood up, "How can you call us the freaks Sissi?"

"Simple, you have all of those freakish powers and you are always trying to stop me from getting to Ulrich," Sissi declared.

"First off, you are the only freak that I see here," Damon said, poking his finger at the crook of her neck, "You keep on trying to push yourself on a boy that isn't interested in you in any way shape or form. You flaunt your sway over the principal with reckless abandon just because something doesn't go your way. You have a massive inferiority complex. You're an arrogant, snooty, self-centered, self-serving, whiny uber bitch. You treat your only friends like garbage. And, to top it all off, you have the gall to insult people that have saved your sorry ass countless times. Now why don't you just go off and start your water park back up again before I become Mr. Frosty. Then you will truly receive the cold shoulder that we have been trying to give you since way before most of us even got here." Damon sat back down calmly and turned to the camera as Sissi ran off crying.

"Ooh, harsh," Erethyr winced.

"She had it coming to her," Yumi commented. Everybody at the table handed Damon twenty bucks.

"I told you that I could send her away crying again," Damon proclaimed.

"Sorry to have ever doubted that you had lost your touch," Ulrich stated.

"Now back to our question," Millie said.

"For the hundred millionth time, no," Damon said.

"If you won't do it for them," Erethyr cooed seductively, lightly touching Damon's chin, "Then couldn't you do it for me?"

Damon's eyes softened as he visibly gave into his girlfriend's whim, "Okay."

"I'll fill in the spots where he doesn't know what happened," Cassandra offered with a smile on her face.

"Alright," Millie and Tamiya exclaimed as they gave each other a high five.

"Alright, it happened about two and a half years ago," Damon explained, "Back then Cassandra wasn't as genial as she is now. She had joined a gang to try to straighten out the streets. Unfortunately, she chose a gang that had a rival that wasn't very scrupulous about killing rival members. She was killed in a drive-by. I was saved for the simple fact that they had no beef with me. They shot her in the chest, killing her instantly. I grieved over her form as an ambulance that was driving by, came and had a look at her. She was proclaimed dead and I went mad with grief. I did some things that I'm not proud of. Drugs and joining a gain to get some payback being the top of the list. Well, one night, the gang that I was in had a scrap with the gang that had killed Cassandra. Both gangs were wiped out that night, with me being the sole survivor of that conflict. I got my payback, however. I broke the neck of the bastard that had killed her, cut off his head, and threw it at his fellow members. Out of that entire fight, I got shot in the arm once and got a wicked scar on my right shoulder. After that, I cleaned up my act. It was about three months after I was declared clean that I ended up coming to Kadic."

"Now, here's where I fill in my end of the story," Cassandra declared, "I was indeed dead, but some spell casters recognized that I was needed in the future. They painstakingly reconnected my body and my soul, fixing my grievous wound. Ever since then, I've been kinder and gentler. I've seen death, I don't want anybody else to have to experience that. It took me about six months after I had been resurrected to be back to normal. Something about rigor mortis really nozzes up the body. I saw Damon at one point after I came back, but I was held back by something. Something just kept me from reaching out to him and telling him that I was alive and well. Which was really fortunate; if I had revealed to him that I was alive then, the plan two months ago wouldn't have worked. But anyway, I'm blathering and I'm wondering where Odd is. We were supposed to have an eating contest today and I was going to spank him."

"Here he comes," Aelita stated. Odd had just entered the cafeteria with Xavier and Cid in tow. Cassandra and Odd nodded to each other and got heaping amounts of food and prepared to pig out.

"And now in this corner, the Purple Pig with Sweaty Palms, Odd Della Robbia," Cid announced, "And in this corner, the mysterious girl that brought Damon back from oblivion, Cassandra Malsvir! Start your stomachs, get ready, get set, GO!"

Odd and Cassandra started to pig out. There wasn't even a single crumb that escaped their notice. Within about five minutes, their plates were spotless and they were going for more. Three rounds later, Odd groaned and fell off his chair, but Cassandra kept on going. She finished not only her plate, but she cleaned Odd's too.

Cid held her hand above her head. "Winner and the new Kadic Academy Bottomless Pit, Cassandra Malsvir!" Most of the cafeteria groaned and paid Erethyr their bet money.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Erethyr proclaimed happily as she counted her take. Even Jim walked up and handed her thirty dollars before walking off and grumbling.

"I'm glad that you two are here," Millie said to Xavier and Cid, "Is it true that you two are trying to recreate SAI?"

"Yes," Xavier stated, "But we're not going to do the same slipshod job that SAI did to Damon, no offense."

"None taken," Damon replied.

"We both saw that SAI was really a good person deep down inside," Cid declared, "But it was just covered up by the computer virus. We are fairly certain that it was destroyed when Xavier shot SAI's core, but we are taking extra precautions, just in case it wasn't. That way we can heal the infected files if any arise."

"The process should take a few more months," Xavier stated, "We are going to be regressing her to a time before I was taken over by the virus; then we will be adjusting her to what she would be now if we hadn't gotten infected."

"Aren't most people going to be apprehensive about her being among us again," Tamiya inquired.

"Almost without a doubt," Xavier declared, "But everybody, save for Damon, was apprehensive about me trying to join the group after trying to destroy them countless times. Damon has already agreed to give SAI a chance before he starts to loathe her again. And, as all of you know, Damon is the most insightful of the group. He sees to the heart of things with a high rate of accuracy."

"The main reason why I'm willing to give her a chance is because she recreated me after I committed suicide," Damon admitted sheepishly.

Cassandra was standing over Odd. She said, "A deal's a deal Odd. I won, so you have to take me out on a date." Damon was visibly taken aback by Cassandra's comment. He shot milk out of nose, fell out of his chair, did a somersault, and stopped with a thud against the cafeteria wall. Nobody could resist the urge to laugh at the white-clad hero. Surprisingly, nobody had taken a bet on this reaction.

"Hey Cid," Millie inquired, "What was it like being kidnapped by SAI?"

"It was horrible at first, what with those genetic experiments that she performed on me," Cid responded, "But after she was done with them, I was allowed to roam freely around her orb. It was about then that I befriended Donjuan and started getting information out to the Lyoko group. When Yumi rescued me, I was in the process of transforming Donjuan into what he is today via the tools that SAI had laid out before me."

"Why does Donjuan look like Yoruichi Shihouin from Bleach," Tamiya implored.

"What, can't a guy like watching anime," Cid protested. Donny hopped up onto the table.

"Don't you know that there are no pets allowed on campus," Jim yelled as he ran up to the table.

"Don't you know that I am a member of the group that saved your lives about two months ago," Cid countered.

"Didn't really see you doing that much," Jim argued.

"That's because I was captured by SAI right after the first fight on Earth with her," Cid stated, "I was the one who told the group when the attack was supposed to be."

"Yes," Donny proclaimed, "And I also happen to be a member of the group, so if you don't mind…" Donny waved off Jim, who walked off grumbling something about talking cats.

"What were you before you became a cat, Donny," Millie asked.

"I was once the creature that tried to steal Aelita's memories on Lyoko," Donny stated, "I stole enough of her memories to actually gain emotions. I was an emotional wreck before Cid befriended me. I was being forced to do horrible things that I didn't want to do. Cid befriended me and I started acting like a hero. I think that I was accepted as a member of the group because I had been reformed before the question of me joining came up."

"Yeah, I just had to get over the shock of seeing you in your original form floating behind Cid when I went to rescue him," Yumi proclaimed.

"But now that the fighting is over, we really don't have too much to worry about anymore," William declared as he sat down at the table.

"William, I was wondering who wasn't here yet," Millie commented, "What was it like when you first went to Lyoko?"

"It was great," William stated, "I had finally found out why the five charter members were always wandering off when things started to turn a little hectic. Unfortunately, I was taken control of in my first venture to Lyoko because I got a little bit too cocky for my own good. It took them a few months after Lyoko's destruction to get me back, thanks to Damon."

"No problem," Damon declared as he picked himself up off the wall, "It was a pleasure to help you out."

"I'm just glad that the fighting is finally over and now we only have normal teen stuff to worry about," Jeremie proclaimed.

"Um, I wouldn't be too sure about that, Einstein," Damon said.

"What do you mean," Aelita inquired.

"While I was an AI, I felt a greater evil lurking beneath the surface," Damon explained, "But from what I could tell, it wasn't on Lyoko and had no access to it. The fight's not over yet, we are only in the eye of the storm right now. I have no idea when it is going to rear its head, but when it does I think that we are going to have to make travel plans."

"Wow, that's amazing," Millie exclaimed.

"I think that your interviews are about done, aren't they," Erethyr inquired, "After all, you've interviewed all of us."

"Okay, this is Millie and Tamiya, junior newscasters, signing off," Millie declared. The two reporters went off to edit the film where needed.

"Looks like they forgot that they hadn't interviewed me," Erethyr said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"We are going to have to make plans for when this evil awakens," Aelita stated.

"Yeah, but it could take a while," Xavier commented.

"Do you have any ideas as to when it could attack," Ulrich asked Damon.

"None whatsoever," Damon replied, "But it felt like it suddenly gained a lot more power when SAI was defeated."

"That can't be good," Cassandra stated as she finally helped Odd back into his chair.

"That could even mean that it is the one that created the virus that infected both me and SAI," Xavier deduced.

"I guess that all we can do is wait," William stated.

"That and try to find out where the signal that I was receiving was coming from," Damon declared.

"Looks like we are going to have to go back to Lyoko after all," Yumi sighed, "Just when I was starting to readjust to a normal life too."

"Xavier, why don't you and Cid just continue to recreate SAI while we handle this," Jeremie stated.

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go," Erethyr exclaimed as they headed out the door to go to the factory. Their search would be fairly successful; they found out where the signal was coming from, but not when it would strike. They decided to keep monitoring it and be ready to pack up for when it did attack. All they could do at this point was to wait.


End file.
